When the Darkness Comes
by VioletK
Summary: Alexandra has kept herself from travelling with the Doctor. But the answers to her questions might only lie within the TARDIS walls, along with the man who can't make up his mind... or feelings about her. Secrets keep them apart, and no matter how fast they seem to run from them, two shadows seem to always be one step ahead... (10/OC) SERIES ON HIATUS
1. It Never Rains, But It Pours

A/N: Greeting, readers! Welcome to my new story, _When the Darkness Comes_, a sequel to _Whispers in the Dark _and the second story in my _Arie for the Daughter of Time_ series! It is not necessary to read the first story to understand what will be going on, but you can go ahead and do that before reading this one, as it will clear up confusion later on.

Before we begin, I would like to apologize to the old readers for the delay in uploading, as I was patiently waiting for my beta to finish up the second part of the episode so that I could upload them together, and now that it is done (a big kiss to InTheTARDISJustAsItShouldBe!) the sequel is finally yours! To be fair, I did decide to split the big chapters up in smaller ones to see how that goes at the last moment, but you're getting a chapter nonetheless!

Small introduction, for those who forgot or missed it: this is a rewrite of series 3 of _Doctor Who_, featuring my OC, the Time Lady Alexandra (or Valyria, as her actual Gallifreyan name is). Currently on her second body, she thought she was 21 years old last time we saw her, though the Doctor discovered she was actually 356. She is not yet part of the TARDIS crew, but she will gradually become one as this story goes on. For your convenience and mine, I'll be using actual actresses to portray each incarnation or other OCs, so the faceclaim of this incarnation is Anna Popplewell. For help with visualization of her clothes, you can find all her outfits gathered in a collection on my Polyvore account - along with a moodboard for this story! Both a list of her incarnations and my username can be found in my profile.

Continuing my naming the stories after songs (though they are _not_ songfics), I borrowed the title of Colbie Caillat's song, as the title on its own really suits the feel of this story and where I want to go with it and the lyrics mirror what will be going on with the Doctor and Alexandra during this installment. So on you go, and don't forget to leave a review!

* * *

The grey clouds in the sky outside the Royal Hope Hospital complemented Mr. B. Stoker's unchanging mood as he led his medical students inside another ward, as their routine was every morning. Every day he would take them on a tour around the hospital to check on. After visiting an older woman, he then led them to a new patient, a man in pyjamas, with brown hair that stood almost on end.

''Now then, Mr. Smith, a very good morning to you,'' he greeted the patient, earning a wide smile. ''How are you today?''

''Aw, not so bad,'' he replied. ''Still, a bit, you know, blah.''

Mr. Stoker addressed his students. ''John Smith, admitted yesterday with severe abdominal pains. Jones,'' he turned to a young black woman with straight black hair, ''why don't you see what you can find? Amaze me.''

The woman, Martha Jones, stepped up, placing a stethoscope around her neck. ''That wasn't very clever,'' she told the patient, ''running around outside, was it?''

Mr. Smith looked at her in confusion. ''Sorry?''

''On Chancellor Street this morning,'' Martha explained. ''You came up to me and took your tie off.''

''Really? What did I do that for?''

''I don't know, you just did,'' she shrugged.

The man shook his head. ''Not me. I was here, in bed. Ask the nurses.''

It was Martha's turn to be confused. ''Well, that's weird, cause it looked like you. Have you got a brother?''

He shook his head yet again. ''No, not any more. Just me.''

''As time passes and I grow ever more infirm and weary, Miss Jones,'' Mr. Stoker broke their conversation irritably.

Martha looked up at him. ''Sorry. Right.'' She placed the tip of the stethoscope on the left side of his chest to listen to his heartbeat, the man watching her intently. She could hear a strong heartbeat, but something seemed to echo that sound. Turning her eyes to the man, she saw him smirking at her. Moving the stethoscope to the right, she found another heartbeat, equally as strong as the first one. Mr. Smith simply winked at her.

Mr. Stoker, watching the scene, sighed. ''I weep for future generations. Are you having trouble locating the heart, Miss Jones?''

Martha raised herself up, removing the stethoscope from her ears. ''Um… I don't know,'' she laughed, dismissing the thought. ''Stomach cramps?''

''That is a symptom, not a diagnosis. And you rather failed basic techniques by not consulting first with the patient's chart.'' Their overseer picked a chart up from the end of Mr. Smith's bed, but dropped it as soon as a small electric shock struck his hand.

''That happened to me this morning,'' said Martha.

''I had the same thing on the door handle,'' a male student, Morgenstern, added.

''And me,'' Swales, a friend of Martha's among the group, pointed out, ''in the lift.''

''That's only to be expected,'' Mr. Stoker explained. ''There's a thunderstorm moving in and lightning is a form of static electricity, as was first proven by – anyone?'' he addressed his audience.

''Benjamin Franklin,'' he was surprised to hear Mr. Smith answer.

''Correct!''

''My mate Ben; that was a day and a half,'' he started rambling, ''I got rope burns off that kite, and then I got soaked…''

''Quite-''

''... and then I got electrocuted!'' he finished, looking around the group with a smile.

''Moving on.'' Mr. Stoker took a male nurse aside. ''I think perhaps a visit from psychiatric,'' he told him, and then addressed his students again, ''and next we have…''

John Smith watched them go with a wide smile, earning one back from Martha Jones as she left with the rest of the small group.

~\8/~

''Here we are, then,'' Mr. Stoker said, leading them to a bed in another ward. Lying on it was a woman in her early twenties with straight chestnut hair and icy blue eyes, her cheeks and nose adorned with freckles, wearing a white gown and reading a magazine. Her left hand was being fed by an IV bag. ''An early admittance, Andrea Harkness came in the early hours of the morning with a severe headache and dizziness. How, are you, miss Harkness?''

She put her magazine down on her lap. ''Tiny bit better, actually. Still got a headache, though, and I'm a tiny bit nauseous.''

He smiled at her and turned to the group. ''Any suggestions? Jones?'' he addressed the woman. ''Maybe something to make up for your previous errors?''

Martha nodded. ''Dizziness and nausea could be symptoms of pregnancy,'' she suggested, and Miss Harkness' mouth dropped in the shape of an O.

''I can assure you I'm not pregnant,'' she said indignantly.

Mr. Stoker pursed his lips. ''Now, you're making the same mistake again. Miss Harkness, what have you been doing for the past days? Taken good care of yourself?''

She cocked her head to the side. ''No, actually. I barely had time to eat or drink this week, been very busy. You think this has something to do with it?''

''Just simple dehydration, that's all,'' he assured her. ''And you ate a whole meal in one go right after waking up, can't blame you for feeling nauseous. See?'' he said to the group. ''Sometimes the solution is fairly simple.''

''But sometimes it's not.'' Everyone's heads turned in Miss Harkness' direction. ''It might be even more complicated than you thought.'' Her tone was so ominous that Martha shivered.

Mr. Stoker cleared his throat. ''Alright, time to move on again…'' He led the group outside once more, away from her piercing blue eyes that followed them till they were gone.

~\8/~

Alexandra was woken up two hours later by loud thunder.

She blearily opened her eyes and stared out of the window to see rain pouring heavily outside. Most of the inhabitants of the ward were awake, unlike her, who had dozed off right after the medical students had left. Faking various conditions had become quite an expertise of hers the past years, seeing that she wasn't remotely human. It had been a surprise when she had found out she could manipulate her own internal organs to create various medical conditions (an ability that had even pushed her towards her chosen profession), and when she saw the plasma coils outside the hospital, she had seized the opportunity to use said ability to get in. And good thing she did.

Because that didn't sound like normal thunder.

Her assumptions were further affirmed when the rain started going up.

She immediately tugged at the tape securing the needle in her arm to get a closer look, but it wouldn't come off, no matter how hard she scratched at it. ''Come off, come off…'' she mumbled under her breath. Just as she found a free corner of tape to pull, a bright light filled the room and a strong quake knocked everyone on the floor, including her. The moment she fell, a stinging pain travelled through her arm as the needle was violently ripped out of it, but she didn't have time to address the problem; she was far too busy cowering in the middle of the floor, covering her head with her hands till the quake stopped.

Once it did, Alexandra slowly raised her head up to look around. Curtains were ripped off their rings, tables had travelled across the room, medical equipment had scattered across the floor. A small trail of blood ran down her arm.

All people currently in the room gathered around the window to look outside at the sudden change from day to night, and she joined them. ''Excuse me, sorry,'' she mumbled, sliding next to a young woman to look properly and her eyes widened.

The hospital was standing on the surface of the moon, the Earth visible in the distance.

''Oh, my world," she breathed.

Meanwhile, the room had erupted into chaos. People were screaming and running around like the Apocalypse had come. The medical staff tried to contain the situation, but to no avail; the patients wouldn't listen.

Alexandra went back to her bed and took her clothes from a cupboard next to it. She had to do something, and if the tugging at the back of her mind was anything to go by, she knew exactly who to look for to help.

~\8/~

Martha rushed inside one of the wards, followed by a sobbing Swales. ''All right, everyone back to bed,'' she called as she strode towards the window. ''We've got an emergency but we'll sort it out. Don't worry!''

The Doctor, who had admitted himself as John Smith, watched her intently before shutting his bed curtain.

The young woman looked outside, having a hard time believing they were actually where they were. But there it was: the surface of the moon, and the Earth suspended in the horizon. ''It's real! It's really real! Hold on.'' She reached for the window latch.

''Don't!'' Swales caught her hand to stop her. ''We'll lose all the air!''

''But they're not exactly air tight,'' Martha reasoned. ''If the air was going to get sucked out, it would have happened straightaway, but it didn't. So how come?''

The curtain was pulled aside and the Doctor, in a tight blue suit, emerged. ''Very good point! Brilliant, in fact. What was your name?'' he asked.

''Martha.''

''And it was Jones, wasn't it?'' She nodded. ''Well then, Martha Jones, the question is, how are we still breathing?'' He came to the window as well, looking outside.

''We can't be!'' Swales sobbed.

''Obviously we are, so don't waste my time,'' he dismissed her.

''And here I thought that you would be less rude!'' a voice called behind them.

The Doctor whirled around at the familiar (though now seemingly a bit deeper) voice and could only stare as none other than Alexandra strode into the room, looking very different from what he remembered. Last time he had seen her, she was walking towards a UNIT truck, about to be taken away per her request. And back then it had been his fault that she had left, not being able to cope with the news of her parentage weighing down on him. According to her, she had done them both a favour by leaving the TARDIS, and even now, a few months after the incident for him (though he doubted it had been that short a time for her) he still wasn't sure if he had decided what she was to him.

It wasn't her sudden entrance that had startled him the most; it was her aging. The last time he had seen her she had had the appearance of a 14-year-old girl, and now she had matured to a young and beautiful woman, nothing like the teenager he had met a few months ago from his perspective. And it wasn't just that; this Alexandra had a very strong mental presence in his mind, as if her own mind was a beacon signalling that she was, indeed, standing in front of him, that she wasn't a person to be ignored. For a moment, he had to consider the repercussions of such a presence and what it would mean to similarly telepathic species like themselves.

Her style had matured, as well: she was wearing a black sleeveless dress with a lace neckline and a train in a similar fashion to the skirts she preferred to wear when she was younger, though that was the only similarity she had with her human self in sense of style. She wore it along with a pair of black military boots, obviously preferring them over coloured sneakers now, a leather jacket in one hand; her cloak wouldn't have spared her a visit to a psych ward, he guessed. Her hair fell over her right shoulder, the left side held up by the barrette she had been wearing when she had left the TARDIS. A heavy fob watch, THE fob watch, in fact, was still hanging around her neck, while a brown leather bracer was tied around her left wrist.

''Whoa, what year is this?'' he only managed to get out, his thoughts having difficulty arranging themselves into spoken words.

She was rummaging through a cupboard by the door. ''The same as before'', she said. ''Don't worry; it was me who travelled. Miss Jones?'' she called. ''Where do you keep sticker bandages?''

Martha blinked. ''The cupboard next to you.''

Alexandra nodded and opened it, pulling out what she was looking for. As she applied it over the small hole the IV tube had left behind, she kept coming towards them. ''Right after you left, I reverse engineered a vortex manipulator and did some travelling of my own; living up to the title, you know? Took me very long, though; should have come back earlier. Come here!'' She threw her arms around his neck and gave him a tight hug, and he hugged her back with a laugh, earning a confused glance from Martha.

Once he let her go, he looked at her arm. ''What's wrong with your hand?''

''Nothing; we're on the moon!'' Alexandra cheered and he smiled.

''I know! And we're breathing!''

''I love it when that happens!'' She giggled slightly at her own excitement and then she let go to stare outside the window. ''How do you reckon we should proceed?''

As much as the shock was getting to him, he couldn't let it stall him, so the Doctor turned to Martha. ''Martha, what have we got? Is there a balcony on this floor, or a veranda, or...?''

After a short moment of breaking away the confusion, she replied. ''By the patients' lounge, yeah.''

''Fancy going out for a moon walk, Martha Jones?'' Alexandra asked her.

''Okay,'' she said in a heartbeat.

''We might die,'' the Doctor warned her.

''We might not,'' she countered.

Both aliens smiled. ''Good, c'mon,'' the Doctor said, then glanced at Swales. ''Not her, she'd hold us up.'' The intern sobbed once as they ran out of the room, Martha behind Alexandra.

''I love the way you think, Martha Jones,'' she called over her shoulder at the medical student as she tied her jacket around her waist, and Martha smiled at the comment.

Martha led the two of them down the hallway and in front of the glass doors leading outside. The Time Lords took hold of the door handles and, after a subtle nod from her, opened it and stepped outside.

Martha took in a sharp breath. ''We've got air! How does that work?''

''Just be glad it does'', the Doctor commented as they stepped closer to the edge of it. Alexandra kept back a bit, staring up at the Earth looming in the horizon.

''I've got a party tonight,'' Martha mumbled and Alexandra turned her eyes on her. ''It's my brother's twenty-first. My mother's going to be really... really…'' Her voice broke at the end, as if she was about to cry.

''You okay?'' she asked her, taking a step closer to her.

''Yeah.''

''Sure?'' the Doctor asked in return.

''Yeah!''

''Want to go back in?''

Martha shook her head. ''No way! I mean, we could die any minute, but all the same - it's beautiful.''

''You think?'' he stared up at the Earth.

''How many people want to go to the moon?'' she wondered. ''And here we are!''

''Standing in the earthlight,'' Alexandra mumbled as she came to stand next to her, resting her elbows on the balcony the same moment the Doctor did.

After a moment of silence, Martha addressed the Doctor. ''What do you think happened?''

''What do you think?'' he asked her back. The woman had shown promise so far. She was intelligent and able to keep her calm in situations as stressful as the one they were in right now. Not that he was looking for companions, of course not. That position was reserved for Alexandra, if she would have it. But Martha Jones was a very interesting human being.

''Extraterrestrial,'' she replied firmly. ''It's got to be. I don't know, a few years ago that would have sounded mad, but these days? That spaceship flying into Big Ben, Christmas, those Cybermen things...'' Her eyes drifted out into the horizon. ''I had a cousin. Adeola. She worked at Canary Wharf. She never came home.''

Alexandra looked at the Doctor as she placed a hand over Martha's in an attempt to offer her some comfort.

''I'm sorry,'' he told her.

''Yeah.''

''I was there,'' he mumbled. ''In the battle…'' His eyes were filled with sorrow and he got lost in his own thoughts, and Alexandra immediately knew why he was like that. She remembered when he had told her about Rose, the woman she had taken a glimpse of in his mind, the one who got lost in a parallel universe during the battle of Canary Wharf. It was still raw for him, a wound wide open, because she knew the man loved Rose very much, she had figured that much out, even though she didn't know how much, and it hurt to even bring her in his mind, let alone remember the day she was ripped from his grasp.

And she wanted to do something, she really did, but what could she do? What did she know about love? She barely remembered her own mother! She was too young – by her species' standards – to understand what he needed, and she hadn't even experienced the feeling for herself to begin with (her sisters weren't a very expressive lot when it came to emotions). And, of course, she didn't want to force her way into the Doctor's life and become his new project to take his mind off Rose, or replace the children he had lost. That's why she had stopped him from helping her when she was apprehended by UNIT. She wanted to figure out her new life by herself.

Though she couldn't lie to herself; there was the... other matter that held her back from accepting his offer, as well... A matter more personal than the rest...

''I promise you, Mr. Smith,'' Martha broke her reverie, ''Miss Harkness, we will find a way out. If we can travel to the moon, then we can travel back. There's got to be a way.''

Meanwhile, the Doctor was examining the space around the balcony. ''It's not Smith, that's not my real name,'' he told her. Alexandra, guessing what he was thinking, looked over the balcony as well. ''And hers is not Harkness – where did you pick up Harkness, anyway?''

''Long story, wouldn't know where to start'', Alexandra replied, focusing on examining the base of the hospital. ''Won't keep it, though.''

''Who are you, then?'' Martha asked, looking at the pair's odd actions.

''My name's Alexandra.''

''And I'm the Doctor.''

''Me too, if I can pass my exams,'' she laughed. ''What is it, then? Doctor Smith?''

''Just the Doctor,'' both Time Lords said, looking over the same side.

With every passing remark, she grew even more confused. ''How do you mean, just the Doctor?''

''Just... the Doctor,'' he looked at her.

''What, people call you 'the Doctor'? And don't you have a surname?'' she turned to Alexandra, as well.

''No, I don't,'' Alexandra picked up a pebble from the balcony and started tossing it in the air, ''and yeah, we do call him that.''

''Well, I'm not,'' Martha said. ''As far as I'm concerned, you've got to earn that title.''

''Well, I'd better make a start, then. Let's have a look.'' The Doctor took the pebble from Alexandra mid-air, earning an annoyed yelp, and threw it forward with force. ''There must be some sort of…'' The pebble hit an invisible wall, causing ripples in the air.

''…force field,'' Alexandra finished for him, ''to keep the air in.''

''If that's like a bubble sealing us in,'' Martha realized, ''that means this is the only air we've got.'' She looked to the pair, who were looking at the place where the pebble had hit the force field. ''What happens when it runs out?''

''How many people in this hospital?'' the Doctor asked.

She shrugged. ''I don't know, a thousand?''

''One thousand people,'' he mumbled, ''suffocated.''

Alexandra let out a shuddering breath. ''Oh, my world,'' she whispered.

''Why would anyone do that?!'' Martha asked them in alarm.

Suddenly a rumbling noise like an engine filled the night. ''Head's up! Ask them yourself.'' The Doctor looked up just as three huge black ships flew overhead and came to land in front of the hospital, outside the force field. Latches opened at their bottom and what seemed like platoons upon platoons of armour-clad aliens with huge black helmets emerged and started marching across the surface of the moon towards the hospital.

''Aliens,'' Martha breathed. ''That's aliens. Real, proper aliens!''

Alexandra chuckled. ''I take offence in that statement,'' she remarked quietly to the Doctor, almost hanging from the balcony to get a better look.

''Judoon,'' he identified the aliens, smirking just a little bit at her remark.


	2. Moon Walking

A/N: (WARNING, Last Christmas spoilers ahead) OH MY GOD, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! Clara is staying for series 9! You can't believe how excited I am by the news! My sister and I nearly cried at the old Clara scene and how she ended up, and the Santa Claus came and we nearly screamed and the Doctor went to find her and JESUS CHRIST THIS IS THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!

Sorry, got a bit carried away.

Anyway, since I'm so happy with this turn of events, you'll get the second chapter TODAY! So go ahead and read on, as a special holiday gift!

Also, I realized not all of us celebrate Christmas, so let me broaden this and wish everyone a happy holiday with the people you love and cherish!

* * *

The trio had reached the first floor in no time, though they had to duck out of sight due to the open corridor overlooking the lobby they had found themselves in. The Doctor led them behind a few potted plants, the women on either side of him, to look at the commotion below. The Judoon, big walking rhinos dressed in all black, were shining a blue light on the people's faces, scanning for non-human DNA. If the scans showed that he or she was human, they marked the back of their hands with an X.

''Oh, look down there, you've got a little shop!'' the Doctor smiled. ''I like a little shop.''

''Never mind that!'' Martha exclaimed. ''What are Judoon?''

''Galactic police. Well, police for hire. More like interplanetary thugs.''

''And they brought us on the moon?''

''Neutral territory,'' Alexandra piped in before the Doctor could even open his mouth. ''According to galactic law, they've got no jurisdiction over the Earth, and they isolated us. The rain and lightning was an H2O scoop to bring us up here.''

''What's that about 'galactic law'?'' Martha asked, rolling her eyes. ''Where'd you get that from?'' The Doctor and Alexandra moved to the other side of the railing and Martha followed suit behind them, kneeling next to him and peeping over it. ''If they're police, are we under arrest? Are we trespassing on the moon or something?''

''No. But I like that,'' he praised, ''good thinking. No, it's more simple. They're making a catalogue, it means they're after something non-human, which is very bad news for us two,'' he pointed between himself and Alexandra.

She, just getting what he was implying, froze. ''Uh-oh.''

''Why?'' Martha wondered. The pair merely looked at her meaningfully. ''Oh, you're kidding me.'' The Doctor raised an eyebrow, while Alexandra gave her a crooked smile. ''Don't be ridiculous,'' Martha laughed, but when she saw their expressions didn't waver, she sobered up. ''Stop looking at me like that.''

''Come on, then,'' he beckoned her up, following Alexandra, who had turned in a crouch and had walked down the corridor behind them.

~\8/~

Alexandra was peering over the Doctor's shoulder as he worked on a computer in one of the hospital's labs, using the sonic on the screen to search the records. His face was all scrunched up in concentration and mild annoyance.

''So,'' he started, ''how long?''

She blinked. ''Huh?''

''How long has it been?''

Alexandra rested her elbows on the desk, deliberately keeping her gaze on the screen. She had hoped to avoid the question for a while longer, but of course, it was quiet, they were alone and he was the Doctor. ''Must be… 175 years?''

The Doctor stopped to look at her. ''You're... 196 years old?'' he mumbled in slight shock, catching himself just in time before he revealed the result of the actual addition he had done in his mind... which was 356+175. The fact that she had grown older wasn't what shocked him the most, though. It was the fact that she still didn't know how old she actually was, which meant that those memories hadn't come back yet. What could be so dramatic that her mind decided to bury 335 years of memories? And why didn't she realize that her previous incarnation had actually been 343 instead of 8?

Alexandra just shrugged at his revelation, not catching his train of thought. ''I told you, I got travelling. Like you so often do.''

''And what were you doing all this time on your own?''

That was the question she had been dreading the most. She clasped her hands on the desk nervously in a manner her human counterpart had also shared. ''I've been around for a while. Human colonies in the future, alien telepathic races for the... you know...'' She pointed subtly at her head. ''Had to get my mind in shape again and that I did.''

''Yeah, I noticed,'' he nodded in agreement. ''You've got a much stronger mental presence than before. Well done,'' he praised with a smile. The Time Lady dropped a curtsy in reply.

Even if practising her mental abilities had been a great part of her wanderings, the main reason she had started her travels for was research. She had found herself in famed universities, sacred archives and even the odd wise storyteller to gather information on her abilities, if there was any information to look for. Of course, she knew what the ideal place to look in was, but for now, at least, she had told herself that the TARDIS library was off limits.

The sisters had called the golden light ''the gift of time'' and she had often caught snippets of conversations between the oldest of the sisterhood when they called her ''the gifted one'' or ''the daughter of time''. She remembered that the glow was accompanied by time distortions more often than not back at home, something that was persistent even now, if not more aggressive. During her research, she had found little to no mentions of individuals or even Time Lords with the abilities she had. The only thing she had found were records of various versions of the legend of the Princess of Arcadia, and the further in time she got, the more distorted even that one became. She had resigned herself to the fact that only Gallifreyan records would hold any bit of information concerning time warping powers – or, as she preferred to call it, chronokinesis – and those were either destroyed along with her planet... or available somewhere in the TARDIS.

''Yep, travelling helps the soul. I might continue once we're done here, look up some things on my own.'' She felt obliged to add that last bit when she saw the Doctor's face momentarily light up, and it didn't feel refreshing to see his expression fall as soon as he had gotten his hopes up.

He looked at her for a few brief moments and then continued sonicing the computer. ''So I should expect more of this in the future?''

''Whose future?'' she raised an eyebrow and he gave her a small laugh, just as Martha came in the room.

''They've reached the third floor... What's that thing?'' she nodded towards the screwdriver.

''Sonic screwdriver,'' they both replied, not bothering to turn around and look at her. As soon as they said it, they turned their eyes on each other, smiling excitedly, before focusing on the computer again.

''Well, if you're not going to answer me properly-''

''No, really, it is,'' the Doctor rolled around his chair. ''It's a screwdriver, and it's sonic.'' He held it up. ''Look.''

''What else have you got?'' Martha asked, not quite buying what they were selling. ''Laser spanner?''

''I did, but it was stolen by Emily Pankhurst, cheeky woman.'' Suddenly he hit the screen with his hand. ''What's wrong with this computer?!''

''Don't assault the computer, it did nothing wrong!'' Alexandra exclaimed and stroked its top once. ''He didn't mean it.''

''The Judoon must have locked it down. Judoon platoon upon the moon.'' He rubbed his chin in thought. '''Cause I was just travelling past, I swear, I was just wandering, I wasn't looking for trouble – honestly, I wasn't–'' he rushed to add once he saw Alexandra's raised eyebrow, ''but I noticed these plasma coils around the hospital, and that lightning – that's the plasma coils – has been building up for two days now, so I checked in, I thought something was going on inside, it turns out the plasma coils were the Judoon up above… Why are you laughing?'' he asked Alexandra, who had started snickering next to him.

She just teased one lock on the top of his head. ''Nice hairstyle, you should keep it.''

He hadn't noticed that, during his unending speech, he had run his hand through his hair so many times that now he looked like some kind of mad bird.

''But what were they looking for?'' Martha asked.

''Something that looks human, but isn't.''

''Like you, apparently.''

''Like us. But not us. Not you, right?'' he rounded up on Alexandra.

She raised her hands in defence. ''You got me; I saw the plasma coils last night, thought it might be interesting to take a look at them up close, checked in early morning.'' She took the keyboard from him. ''Let me try and unlock it.''

The Doctor, however, kept a firm hand on it. ''You don't have as much experience as I do with computers.''

''I believe my years of experience are enough.''

''But I still have the advantage!''

''And I have the intuition of a woman!

''27 brains!''

''Woman, 30 brains, my turn, give me a chance!''

He stared at her for a few seconds before letting go of the keyboard. Before taking his place in the chair, Alexandra landed a small kiss on his cheek, one that left him a bit dazed.

''Haven't they got a photo?'' Martha asked slowly, having witnessed the odd interaction.

''Might be a shape-changer,'' he replied, watching the quick progress Alexandra was making with keen interest.

''Whatever it is, can't you just leave the Judoon to find it?''

''If they declare the hospital guilty of harbouring a fugitive, they'll sentence it to execution.''

''All of us?!'' Martha realized in shock.

''Oh yes. If we can find this thing first... Oh!'' he exclaimed just as all windows started disappearing from the screen, making Alexandra jump. ''Do you see, they're thick! Judoon are thick! They are completely thick! They wiped the records! Oh, that's clever,'' he ran a hand through his hair again, making it even more messed up than before.

''What are we looking for?'' the black woman asked, wanting to help out.

''I don't know. Say, any patient admitted in the past week with unusual symptoms. Maybe there's a back-up!'' He grabbed the screen and looked behind it, grabbing the sonic to boost the system again. The Time Lady did everything in her power not to laugh out loud at the sight of his hair.

''Just keep working, I'll go ask Mr. Stoker, he might know,'' Martha said before turning to exit the room, careful not to step on the items had had fallen on the floor during the quake.

~\8/~

''We don't need to go and get her, she'll come to us!'' Alexandra protested as she briskly walked behind the Doctor.

''Well, she doesn't have to bring along her overseer, then he'll have to tag along!'' the Doctor replied, or more like whined. ''I don't like people tagging along when I don't want them!''

''Yeah, for you, it's just the elite few,'' she joked when they came to the main corridor, seeing Martha running towards them. ''Hey, we restored the back-up!''

''I found her,'' she replied instead, making the Time Lady blink.

''You did what?'' the Doctor asked incredulously, just as a man dressed in leather from top to bottom and wearing a big black shiny helmet broke through the door Martha had come through and advanced towards them. His hand caught Alexandra's firmly. ''Run!'' he shouted to the girls and pulled her along down the corridor, Martha following close behind as the man gave chase.

They ran down the staircase of the hospital, followed closely by the leather clad man, though Martha was pretty sure they were trying to shake him off. When they reached the fourth floor, however, they had to come to a halt when they saw a group of Judoon marching up the stairs. The Doctor pushed them through the door to the wards before they could be seen. They kept running without knowing where they were going, though he had a very good idea where to lead him.

And that's why, when they reached the radiology room, he pushed the two girls inside and locked the door with his sonic right in the face of their pursuer.

He pushed them inside the controller's room while the man outside pounded at the door. ''When I say 'now', press the button,'' he said.

''But I don't know which one!'' Martha protested.

''Then find out!''

Alexandra sighed and studied the equipment before her, all a series of switches and buttons that could likely be the ones they were looking for. Oh, that's what not working in the 21st century did to a scientist!

She looked around, her eyes landing on a big black binder. ''Manual!'' she exclaimed, plucked it out off the bookshelf and opened it, skimming through the pages while thanking her Time Lord brain for being able to record small details easily. She looked at Martha and pointed at a big yellow button. _Obvious button is obvious_, she thought. ''That yellow one there!''

The medical student nodded and positioned herself in front of it, ready to do as instructed.

Looking through the glass, they just saw the Doctor place his screwdriver in the machinery and turn it towards the door, which was barely standing on its hinges. ''What are you doing?!'' Alexandra shouted at him.

''Something really clever!'' he shouted back, just as the man broke the door down and entered. ''NOW!''

Martha slammed her hand on the button and the room filled with blue light as the Doctor zapped the man with radiation, his own skeleton flashing in and out of view, while the man appeared to be completely solid. Once the radiation was off, the man tipped over and fell over like a plank, landing on his face. She looked at the Doctor in utter shock, while Alexandra just stared at him in amazement.

''What did you do?!'' the human asked.

He looked down at the body on the floor before him, slightly out of breath. ''Increased the radiation by five thousand percent. Killed him dead.''

''But isn't that gonna kill you?''

''Nah, it's only roentgen radiation,'' he replied. ''We used to play with roentgen bricks in the nursery. It's safe for you to come out, I've absorbed it all. All I need to do is expel it.'' The girls moved around the barrier and watched the Doctor intently as he rolled back his shoulders and bounced on the spot. ''If I concentrate… I can shake the radiation out of my body and into one spot.'' He lifted his left foot up. ''It's in my left shoe. Here we go, here we go, easy does it...'' He then proceeded, to Martha's confusion and Alexandra's utter amusement, to bounce backwards while kicking his foot forward. ''Out! Out! Ow, ow, ow. Ow, ow, ow, ah! Hah, hah, itches! Itches! Itches! Itches! Oh, ooh, hold on...'' He then grabbed his left sneaker and ripped it off his foot, throwing it in the dustbin next to him. ''Done.''

''Can I do that?'' Alexandra asked with a child-like smile on her face.

The Doctor smiled back. ''What, haven't you tried it yet?''

''I'm only 196 years old; there are plenty of things I haven't done yet!'' she replied indignantly and his smile dropped. So she really hadn't discovered she was quite older than that yet…

''Do I have to do it that way?''

At that, he had to pause. ''Probably not…'' he admitted.

''You two are completely mad,'' Martha observed, having witnessed the interaction.

''You're right,'' the Doctor mumbled, ''I look daft with one shoe.'' And he promptly removed his right sneaker as well, throwing it in the dustbin. He wiggled his bare toes while the Time Lady laughed hysterically behind him. ''Barefoot on the moon!''

Martha chose to ignore the last bit, instead focusing on the alien on the floor, crouching beside it. ''So what is that thing? And where's it from? The planet Zovirax?''

''It's just a Slab,'' the Doctor said, coming to crouch on its other side, Alexandra leaning over his shoulder with a small frown on her face. ''They're called 'Slabs'. Basic slave drones, see?'' He rubbed its arm, prompting Martha to do the same. ''Solid leather, all the way through. Someone has got one hell of a fetish.''

The Time Lady shuddered, taking his place on the floor once he stood up. ''Don't say things like that; it's creepy!'' she scolded him.

''But it was that woman,'' Martha told them, ''Miss Finnegan. It was working for her. Just like a servant.''

The Doctor pulled his sonic out of the machinery, only to see the tip charred and burnt out beyond recognition. ''My sonic screwdriver,'' he pouted.

''She was one of the patients, but-''

''No, no, my sonic screwdriver!''

''She had this straw like some sort of vampire!''

''I love my sonic screwdriver!''

Alexandra stood up and laid a hand on his shoulder in consolation. ''It's okay, I'll get you a new one! I promise! Or I'll have the TARDIS get you one… Can't TARDISes do that?'' she asked in thought. ''Make sonic screwdrivers?''

''Doctor!'' Martha called to get their attention.

The Time Lord tossed the useless screwdriver over his shoulder with a wide grin, turning towards her. ''Sorry. You called me Doctor!''

''Anyway! Miss Finnegan is the alien. She was drinking Mr. Stoker's blood!''

Alexandra frowned again, this time in thought. ''Funny time for an alien to take a snack, don't you think? You'd think she'd be hiding for her-'' But then her mouth dropped open in realization and she nudged the Doctor in the chest. ''Unless that was the reason she took a snack for!''

''No…'' the Doctor mumbled, but then it dawned on him, as well. ''Yes, that's it- wait a minute. Yes!'' He grabbed Alexandra's arms, looking her straight in the eyes. ''Shape-changer; internal shape-changer. She wasn't drinking blood, she was assimilating it!'' Without warning, he kissed her forehead. ''You're brilliant, Alexandra!''

''You've told me before!'' she smiled, turning to explain to Martha. ''If Miss Finnegan can assimilate Mr. Stoker's blood and mimic its morphology, she can register as human in the scans!''

''We've got to find her and show the Judoon,'' the Doctor said, grabbing her hand again and running out. ''Come on!''

Martha had no other choice but to follow the two aliens.


	3. Wrestle Against Time

A/N: Happy New Year! I wish you the best of luck for 2015 and I hope that all of you achieve whatever you set your mind to! And good luck to those of you who start school tomorrow (I go back on Thursday)!

Of course, a special thanks goes to those who followed and added the story to their favourites! I haven't sat still long enough to send messages to each of you personally, but I hope I will be able to do so this week.

So, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

The Doctor, Alexandra and Martha sat ducked behind a water cooler on their way to Mr. Stoker's office, watching as a second Slab walked out of a room, possibly in search of its mistress.

''That's the thing about Slabs'', the Doctor whispered, studying it. ''They always travel in pairs.''

''What about you?'' Martha asked him, sitting on the floor between Alexandra and the Doctor. She had noticed how surprised the Doctor had looked when Alexandra first came in the room, so even though they seemed to know each other well, they weren't together on this trip. Did that mean that they were simply acquaintances, or did they also travel together, with days off?

''What about us what?'' he asked back, half paying attention.

''Do you travel together?''

He shot a look momentarily at Alexandra, who had turned her head around sharply to look at Martha. ''No, we don't.''

''Then what? Are you relatives, friends-?''

The Doctor stared at Martha in disbelief. ''Uh. Humans. We're stuck on the moon, running out of air with Judoon and a bloodsucking criminal, and you're asking personal questions. Come on.'' He stood up to peek around the corner, the girls following after him.

''I like that,'' Martha joked, pulling Alexandra up. '''Humans'. Still not convinced you're aliens.''

''Seriously?'' Alexandra asked. ''He just absorbed radiation that would have killed a human on the spot and you still can't believe it?!''

Just then the Doctor stepped around the corner… right in front of a Judoon who shone the blue light on his face, the scanner beeping irregularly. ''Non-human,'' he declared.

''Oh my God, you really are!'' Martha breathed.

''And again!'' the Doctor sighed and pulled both of them by the hand, running down the corridor as the Judoon pulled guns at them and ducking once they fired. As the thugs chased after them, they again escaped to floor 7, guided by the Doctor. He locked the door behind them.

In the main corridor, the patients were dropping unconscious on the floor from the lack of oxygen. ''They've done this floor. Come on," the Doctor led them through it without looking at them. ''The Judoon are logical and just a little bit thick. They won't go back to check a floor they've checked already. If we're lucky.''

Alexandra noticed the woman from before, Swales, feeding oxygen to a woman on a chair and went to kneel beside her, accompanied by Martha. ''How much oxygen is there?'' she asked.

''Not enough for all these people,'' she replied quietly so as not to alarm the people around them. ''We're going to run out.''

The Doctor observed the two of them, their eagerness to help the patients, their compassion. Suddenly he felt a tiny bit guilty for not asking how they were doing himself. But that's just how he was when he was focused; he completely blocked out everything around him. That's why he had companions, people to travel with; to keep him in check. ''How are you feeling? Are you all right?'' he asked Martha.

''I'm running on adrenaline," she smiled at him.

''Welcome to my world. And you,'' he turned to Alexandra, ''holding up all right?''

''Different respiratory system, right?'' she asked back. ''I'll be fine for now.''

''What about the Judoon?'' Martha asked the aliens.

The Doctor looked up and down the corridor, as if the mention of their name would summon them there. ''Nah, great big lung reserves, it won't slow them down. Where's Mr. Stoker's office?''

Martha stood up and walked towards a side corridor. ''It's this way,'' she pointed.

The Time Lords followed her slowly inside the office, through the broken down door. There was no sign of Miss Finnegan, but the lifeless body of Mr. Stoker lay on the floor as pale as a sheet, a round hole at the side of his neck and his dead blue eyes staring up at the ceiling. They rushed towards him the moment they saw it.

''She's gone!'' Martha said. ''She was here!''

''Look at this,'' Alexandra mumbled after a close examination of the body, leaning above it. ''She drained him dry! Not even a drop of blood left.''

''You were right,'' the Doctor observed, looking up at her, ''she's a plasmavore.''

''What was she doing on Earth?'' Martha asked, puzzled.

''Hiding,'' he explained, ''on the run. Like Ronald Biggs in Rio de Janeiro.''

''But what's she doing now?'' Alexandra wondered. ''She's still not safe; the Judoon could execute us all!''

''Come on,'' he helped her up and they went for the door.

''Wait a minute,'' Martha called and they stopped. They watched as she knelt above Mr. Stoker's body and closed his eyes before joining them again to head out of the office.

''Think, think, think,'' the Doctor mumbled to himself, rubbing the back of his head as they walked away. ''If I was a wanted plasmavore surrounded by police, what would I do?'' Once he lifted his head, he saw a red sign reading ''MRI'' pointing to the left, and that was when he realized. ''Ah. She's as clever as me,'' he said in amazement, but then shrugged. ''Almost.''

Alexandra was looking at the sign incredulously. ''Please tell me we're thinking completely different things.''

Suddenly, a door was thrown open with a loud bang and people screamed, making the trio turn their heads around to see the Judoon marching down the corridor. ''Find the non-human! Execute!'' the chief ordered.

The Doctor turned to Martha. ''Martha, stay here. We need time. You've got to hold them up.''

''How do I do that?!'' she asked.

He raised his hands up as if to hold her face. ''Just, forgive me for this. It could save a thousand lives, it means nothing. Honestly, nothing.'' He stared into her eyes, waiting for her to fully understand, and when she gave him a small nod, he grabbed her face and kissed her on the lips, to Alexandra's utter shock. After a short moment he broke away, leaving Martha quite a bit dazed from her own shock, and grabbed Alexandra's hand to pull her after him as he ran down the corridor to the MRI room.

''That was quite bold of you,'' she commented off-handily.

''Well, how do you suggest I had done a genetic transfer on such a short notice?'' he countered, looking around him at the empty corridors that stretched before them.

''It's not that! It's just that Martha might interpret it differently,'' she explained.

''But I told her it meant nothing!''

''Humans, Doctor,'' Alexandra reminded him, tugging at his hand to turn him towards the right way to the MRI room. ''They just have to disregard all obvious signs and dig for what they think is obvious; believe me, I've been one for twelve years, I should know.''

''Can we discuss this afterwards?'' He paused in the middle of the corridor. ''Bloodsucking criminal about to fry the brain stems of every living creature within at least 250,000 miles that we have to stop? Remember?''

Alexandra stared at him. ''Well, if you insist.''

He nodded and took her hand again with a smirk. ''Right, here we go. Allons-y!''

As he pulled her forwards again, she registered her hand had grown warmer in his, but not because he had been holding it, oh no. She would recognize that warmth in her hands anywhere. Immediately, she pulled it away. ''Wait!'' she stopped dead in her tracks.

The Doctor paused, looking at her curiously. ''What's wrong?''

Her... _ability_ was building up again; her adrenaline had started to kick in at last... or her nerves at the prospect of meeting a plasmavore with no defences were reaching their peak. Honestly, she couldn't tell at times. She should have wondered why her hands hadn't started glowing yet; usually it took them less than that. But now, she could feel it coming. The warmth in her hands, accompanied by a growing fatigue that always came when her gift decided to act up against her will. But she would tell him none of that, for he knew nothing of what she could really do.

''Maybe we should not go in together,'' she suggested instead, sticking her hands under her armpits and thanking the stars she was wearing a long sleeved jacket instead of her usual cloak. ''The element of surprise is always a good option.''

''Where did this come from?'' he asked, an eyebrow raised.

''What, don't you trust my judgement?''

''I didn't mean-''

''Good,'' she cut him off with a smile, nodding down the corridor that lead to the MRI room. ''Go on, I've got your back. Just shout if you get in trouble -I won't let her drink too much.''

At that, he actually frowned. ''How did you-?''

''Well, it's you we're talking about; it would either be something brilliant, something dangerous, or both, now go on!''

He looked at her for a good long moment before reluctantly walking towards the end of the corridor where bright flashes of light were coming from. Last time she had acted like this, she had led UNIT to her location to arrest her, so he, of course, didn't like where this was going. He could only guess what she had in mind, though he was pretty sure what came to his mind was a far cry from what was actually happening. You could never be sure with another Time Lord, especially if said Time Lord was Alexandra.

Once Alexandra heard a door open and close, she let herself stagger and fall on the wall behind her, sliding down it with a huff. She raised her hands to examine them: not surprisingly, they were emitting a soft yellow glow, like a source of light was trapped right underneath her skin. From previous experience, she knew that the light extended to just below her elbow, and that if she didn't stop it soon, it would have terrible repercussions for her...

~\8/~

The Doctor stepped cautiously inside the room, blinded by the light that occasionally flashed from the MRI. Electric bolts ran the length of the machine, and a quick inspection of the room revealed Miss Finnegan, a frail looking woman in her 70s, working the controls, a black X drawn at the back of her right hand.

He walked inside the room slowly, his face taking on a frantic expression as he instantly regretted what he was about to do. Oh, he just hoped that it would be Alexandra to find him... ''Have you seen- there are these things,'' he started, making the plasmavore turn around to look at him as he pointed towards the door, ''these great big space rhino things; I mean rhinos from space! And we're on the moon! Great big space rhinos with guns on the moon! And I only came in for my bunions, look!'' He grabbed his right foot to show her, rubbing the sole. ''They're all right now, perfectly good treatment, the nurses were lovely; I said to my wife, I'd recommend this place to anyone, but then we end up on the moon! And did I mention the rhinos?''

By the time he had finished his rant, she had come out of the control booth to study him closely. ''Hold him!'' she ordered, and suddenly the remaining Slab that had been hiding behind the door came forward and grabbed the Doctor's arms from behind, holding him in place...

~\8/~

Meanwhile, Alexandra was having a hard time distinguishing the actual time she was in from all the notions from different time zones she was getting, both past and future. She was pretty sure she currently was in 2008, but now, with all the raw energy she had coursing through her, she was losing all sense of time zone identification.

It started slowly; she would start getting feelings from other times and places and her Time Lord senses would go wild trying to tell her which notion was real and which wasn't. It was quite remarkable, how strong that sense was to make her even doubt her knowledge of where she was right then and there. Then, as the energy built up inside her, she would feel a pull towards a certain time zone and her senses would accept it as the current one, but that was when she would lose the battle. If she fell in the trap of letting herself get distracted, her grip of where she was right then would slip and she would be a goner. Her displacements hurt more often than not, even after so many years of having them.

And the saddest part was that she still didn't have a clue of how or why she ended up where she did. That's the reason she wore a vortex manipulator at all times; it wasn't just because it helped her travel through time easily and almost always with no detection (for, some species had developed machines that could detect time discharges after time travel had become commonplace), but because she could go back to the time zone she was in if she had displaced herself by accident. Not that there was any other way she could displace herself at the moment.

She took a few deep breaths, closing her eyes and bringing her knees to her chest to concentrate. What is real? What feels more real right now? She tried to anchor her Time Lord sense of time, search among the notions and feel for which time zone felt more solid than the rest. It was a hard task that required all her mental strength to perform; another one of the reasons she had trained up her mind in the past centuries. Steadily, she made her way through all the notions that bombarded her, searching for one that would be time-identical with whatever she was touching (surprisingly, she had discovered that touching her body on surfaces made her hold on to her time zone better). It took almost a minute for her to find the right one: Earth, 2008, somewhen in spring.

She raised her hand to dial the time and place in her vortex manipulator as quickly as she could. Even if she did manage to find the right time zone, she wasn't out of displacement danger yet; she sometimes wasn't quick enough to reverse the process and she would travel through time anyway, and the times when she had suffered from short memory loss weren't a few. One particular time she had to travel to a different place because she couldn't remember where and when she had come from. But as she dialled, her eyes focused on her fingers and widened.

Wisps of golden energy had started to dance on the surface of her skin.

''No, no, no, no, no...'' she mumbled frantically, turning her body around so that her side was touching the wall. She closed her eyes tightly and leaned against it more, trying to feel her surroundings as she, little by little, lost her grip of that time and place...


	4. Responsibility

''That-that big machine... thing, is it supposed to be making that noise?'' the Doctor asked as Miss Finnegan checked over the MRI.

She waved a dismissive hand at him. ''You wouldn't understand.''

''But isn't that a-a magnetic resonance imaging... thing? Like a-a ginormous sort of a magnet? I did Magnetics GCSE. Well, I failed, but all the same.''

''A magnet with its settings now increased to 50,000 Tesla,'' she said with a smile in her voice.

The Doctor frowned. ''Ooh. That's a bit strong, isn't it?''

''It'll send out a magnetic pulse that will fry the brain-stems of every living thing...'' She turned to look at him, a gleeful grin on her face. ''...within 250,000 miles! Except me, safe in this room.

That complicated things quite a bit. ''But... hold on, hold on,'' he said as she went to the control booth again, ''I did Geography GCSE, I passed that one; doesn't that distance include the Earth?''

''Only the side facing the moon,'' she said, looking up from her work. ''The other half will survive. Call it my little gift.'' Then, she focused on the control panel in front of her once more.

He shook his head, feigning confusion. ''I'm sorry, you'll have to excuse me, I'm a little out of my depth. I've spent the past fifteen years working as a postman, hence the bunions - why would you do that?''

''With everyone dead, the Judoon ships will be mine, to make my escape.''

''Now, that's weird. You're talking like you're some sort of an alien,'' he laughed.

Miss Finnegan turned around, a very serious look on her face. ''Right-o.''

His mouth shaped in a perfect O. ''No!''

''Oh, yes,'' she nodded.

''You're joshing me.''

''I am not.''

''I'm talking to an alien? In a hospital? What, has this place got an ET department?''

''It's the perfect hiding place,'' she started explaining, coming around from the booth. ''Blood banks downstairs for a midnight feast, and all this equipment I'm ready to arm myself with should the police come looking,'' she looked pointedly at him.

''So, those rhinos, they're looking for you?'' he asked in the perfect imitation of shock.

''Yes. But I'm hidden.'' She held up her hand to show him the X drawn at the back of it.

''Oh. Right!'' He nodded along, bracing himself for what he was about to go through next. ''Maybe that's why they're increasing their scans.''

At that, Florence span around in alarm. ''They're doing what?''

''Big chief rhino boy, he said 'No sign of a non-human, we must increase our scans up to setting two'?''

She nodded slowly at the statement. ''Then I must assimilate again.''

''What does that mean?''

''I must appear to be human.'' She walked behind the booth and bent down to pick something up, coming around with her handbag.

If he was being completely honest, he wasn't ready to have his blood be drunk by a plasmavore. Who would be? But then he thought of all the people who would suffocate if he didn't do something soon, and that Alexandra had his back at that very moment, and what he had to do seemed a little less... horrible. ''Well, you're welcome to come home and meet the wife,'' he smiled cheerfully, keeping up the pretence, ''she'd be honoured! We can have cake!''

''Why should I have cake?'' she asked, a simple straw in her hand. ''I've got my little straw!''

Well, that was driving the joke out of the window. ''That's nice. Milkshake? I love banana.''

Miss Finnegan hummed in thought. ''You're quite the funny man. And yet, I think, laughing on purpose at the darkness. I think it's time you found some peace. Steady him!''

The Slab forced him down on his knees, exposing the right side of his neck, and he groaned in pain. Miss Finnegan advanced towards him with a smile on her face, like a proper Angel of Death, wiping at his skin. ''What are you doing?'' he asked.

''I'm afraid this is going to hurt. But if it's any consolation, the dead don't tend to remember.'' And with that, she stuck one end of the straw on his neck, placing her lips on the other end, ready to drink...

~\8/~

At the corridor right before the MRI section, the Judoon had just finished a full body scan on Martha. The chief drew an X on the back of her hand. ''Confirmed: human. Traces of facial contact with non-human. Continue the search!'' he barked the last bit at his team before handing Martha a slip of paper. ''You will need this.''

Martha studied the small leaflet. ''What's that for?'' she asked in confusion.

''Compensation,'' the chief replied and stomped off with the others. She didn't stay there for long; pocketing the leaflet, she followed suit behind them, wanting to know what the Time Lords had done...

~\8/~

Miss Finnegan was sucking the Doctor's blood through her straw greedily, her eyes wide. As he was slowly slipping from consciousness, the effects of blood loss were slowly getting to him; his thoughts were blurry, incomprehensive, but his eyes, even though half-open by now, remained focused on the door, wearily wondering where his partner in crime was now...

Before long, a black shape with pink arms almost crashed through the door, and Alexandra stood upright at the entrance, jacket-less, taking in the sight before her: the Slab holding the Doctor fast in a kneeling position, the plasmavore with the straw on his neck, looking up at her in shock.

The Time Lady stepped inside the room, panting like she had been running, sweat running down her brow. She stared at Florence. ''So, you're the one with the fetish, then,'' she said.

The plasmavore gasped. ''Kill her!'' she ordered the Slab.

The slave dumped the Doctor's near lifeless body unceremoniously on the floor, from where he tried to hold on to consciousness long enough to watch as it advanced towards Alexandra. The woman shut her eyes and concentrated, venting the remainder her mental strength at one single function: raising up her arms, she released all the built-up energy and the Slab went flying across the room, landing right in front of the MRI. Florence didn't see what happened properly, for it had blocked her view of the Time Lady when it went for her, so she thought the woman simply pushed it away.

But that was all she could do. Her mental strength had been utterly spent in five short minutes and her feet gave out from underneath her as soon as the Slab had landed, falling on the floor next to the Doctor. Alexandra looked up at him, studying him to see if he was all right. His skin was pale and looked like even keeping his eyes open drew copious amounts of energy out of him. They flattered shut a moment later, and hers followed, both of them slipping from consciousness...

The door was suddenly kicked almost clear off its hinges and the Judoon marched in, looking around. Miss Finnegan immediately put the straw in her handbag, dubbing at her blood red lips with a finger. ''Now see what you've done!'' she reprimanded them, pointing at the pair on the floor. ''These poor dears just died of fright!''

''Scan him!'' the chief Judoon ordered. One from his team took a scanner and flashed the light on the Doctor's face, the one that mattered to them, and it gave a flat noise. ''Confirmation: deceased.''

Martha came in the room just in time to hear the last sentence. ''No, he can't be,'' she protested, trying to walk through the rhinos. ''Let me through, let me see him!''

The chief put a hand on her shoulder to keep her from going any closer. ''Stop. Case closed.''

''But it was her,'' Martha tried again, making Miss Finnegan look up. ''She killed him. She did it. She murdered him!''

''Judoon have no authority over human crime.''

''But she's _not_ human.''

''Oh, but I am,'' the plasmavore piped in, holding up her hand, ''I've been catalogued!''

''But she's not! She assimil-'' But then realisation dawned on Martha and she could see right through the Time Lords' plan. ''Wait a minute. You drank his blood. _The Doctor's_ blood!'' She grabbed the scanner from a Judoon and flashed the woman with the light.

''Oh, I don't mind,'' she said, too confident for her own good. ''Scan all you like.''

When the scanner started beeping irregularly, the chief Judoon almost growled. ''Non-human.''

A look of panic crossed her features. ''What?''

''Confirm analysis!'' The rest of the Judoon held up their scanners.

''Oh, but it's a mistake, surely,'' she tried to wave them off when all scanners beeped irregularly. ''I'm human. I'm as human as they come.''

''He gave his life so that they'd find you,'' Martha mumbled, her eyes flickering between the Doctor's near lifeless body and Alexandra's unconscious one. Why had she dropped like a stone?

''Confirmed: Plasmavore. I charge you with the crime of murdering the child princess of Patrival Regency Nine.''

''Well, she deserved it!'' she plasmavore spat, dropping all pretence. ''Those pink cheeks and those blonde curls and that _simpering voice_. She was begging for the bite of a plasmavore.''

''Then you confess?''

''Confess? I'm proud of it! Slab, stop them!'' she shouted, ducking behind the control booth. The Slab, which had come back to its feet, charged towards the Judoon, but one of them raised its gun and fired a red blast, disintegrating it.

''Verdict: guilty,'' the chief said. ''Sentence: execution.'' All Judoon raised their guns and took aim.

But the plasmavore was quick: she joined two wires together and the MRI went into overload. She turned to face them through the glass. ''Enjoy your victory, Judoon, because you're going to burn with me. Burn in HELL!''

The Judoon fired at the glass and it melted like wax, the plasmavore screaming from the concentrated blasts of their guns on her. Before long, she was just a pile of ashes, her scream the only reminder that she had ever been there.

''Case closed,'' the chef Judoon declared.

Martha went to kneel between the Time Lords and took Alexandra's wrist. Her heart was beating abnormally fast for someone who was unconscious. ''What did she mean, 'burn with me'? The scanner shouldn't be doing that. She's _done_ something.''

The chief walked over and scanned the MRI. ''Scans detect lethal acceleration of mono-magnetic pulse.''

''Well, do something! Stop it!''

''Our jurisdiction has ended. Judoon will evacuate.''

''You can't just leave it!'' the human protested. ''What's it going to do?''

He pulled out a red comm. device. ''All units withdraw,'' he called and his command resonated throughout the hospital. His team and he evacuated the room immediately and Martha stood up to follow them, watching their retreating backs.

''You can't go!'' she shouted. ''That thing's going to explode and it's all _your fault_!'' But they paid no heed to her shouts; they turned around the corner and disappeared, leaving her to stand in the middle of the corridor, alone.

But she wouldn't let that pass. Without second thought she ran back inside and knelt by the Doctor's side, ignoring her own dizziness as she started applying CPR. She breathed into his mouth once and then started pushing down at the centre of his chest. ''One, two, three, four, five,'' she counted, moving to give him mouth-to-mouth again before pumping his chest once more, ''One, two, three, four, five...''

''Hearts...''

The human would have almost missed the groan that came out of Alexandra's lips and the word disguised within. ''What?'' she asked in confusion.

The Time Lady blinked a few times and raised her hands weakly, making to cross her heart; but no, each hand crossed either side of her chest instead of just the left. ''Two hearts...'' she mumbled, a little stronger than before but still not making a move to sit up.

And that's when Martha remembered: her mind went back to that morning when she had listened to his heart, hearing the second heartbeat next to the first one...

Her thoughts were getting foggier as oxygen starvation kicked in, but he was her patient and she wasn't going to leave him like this. She placed her hands over the right side of his chest. ''One, two, three, four, five,'' she pumped, then moved to the left side, ''One, two, three, four, five!'' The air around her was thin, but she managed to take in a lungful and breathe it into the Doctor. As soon as she separated from him, he gasped awake and coughed loudly, Martha collapsing on the floor next to him in relief and exhaustion.

His eyes travelled to Alexandra, who rolled on her side and gave him a weak nod to reassure him that she was alright, smiling when she saw that he was alright (or just about), as well. Then he looked at the medical student, who wasn't even moving. ''The scanner...'' she rasped out, ''she did something...'' As she breathed out those last words, her eyes fluttered shut.

The Doctor looked up at the MRI, through which bolts of electricity were running, no doubt having encircled the whole hospital by now. Coughing hard, he let Alexandra push herself up to Martha and cradle her head in her lap as he staggered in the control booth to turn off the machine. It was hard to even sit upright due to all the blood loss, but he managed to fall on the desk in front of the computer by some miracle. He reached into his inside pocket, only to grab a handful of its fabric: he had forgotten that he had discarded the sonic when it was burned earlier, and he grumbled at the turn of events.

''Unplug it, for God's sake!'' Alexandra shouted over the roar of electricity, seeing his distress. She was going over Martha's vitals; they, as Time Lords, could go on longer without oxygen, but if the Judoon didn't reverse the process immediately, the humans would all suffocate. The girl appeared to be fine for now, but what would happen if oxygen didn't return in the following five minutes? There was only so much the human brain could withstand!

The bolts suddenly stopped and she looked up from Martha's face to see the Doctor making an effort to stand up among coughs. She took hold of one of Martha's arms and stood up, trying to make the unconscious woman sit more upright. ''Can you help me with her?'' she asked him.

He pushed off the controls and came around to them, sitting a bit straighter, and took the human's other arm, helping Alexandra haul her up. ''She would make a lovely companion, you know,'' she commented lightly.

The Doctor shot her a glare. ''How about we talk after we get to Earth?''

Like that they got out of the room and into the corridor, testing out how to walk with Martha between them. As they neared the spot where the Doctor had left Alexandra, his eyes fell on a circular section of wall close to the floor that was missing its top coat of paint and some of the plaster underneath. Even though that seemed curious at the moment, he had no time to sit and think about it; instead he continued walking along with the two women.

They walked down the corridors, back to the room the Doctor had been in, each of Martha's arms around the Time Lords' necks for support as they half-dragged, half-carried her along. It wasn't an easy task, seeing as one of them had sustained blood loss and the other had barely managed to tame the forces of the universe that ran through her, but they managed to reach the room.

They looked outside at the Judoon ships leaving the surface of the moon. ''Come on, come on, come on,'' the Doctor mumbled, ''come on, please... Come on, Judoon, reverse it!''

Before long, it had started pouring heavily outside the hospital. The Time Lords grinned. ''It's raining, Martha,'' Alexandra said, even though she knew the medical student couldn't hear her, ''it's raining on the moon!''

A blinding flash of light engulfed them...

~\8/~

People were running about, hugging their relatives as medical teams arrived at the fully returned Royal Hope Hospital to help those who had been inside. More than half of them were crying, the rest being buried in the chests of their loved ones that had rushed to find out what had happened.

In the commotion, Alexandra and the Doctor slipped away from the building, the Time Lady insisting he lean on her while they made their way to the blue box. On the way, she stopped by one of the bushes outside the perimeter of the hospital, coincidentally close to the parked TARDIS and dug her hands inside, letting) out a cheery whoop when her fingers curled around what she had been looking for.

The Doctor looked as she pulled out a black shiny piece of fabric, realising it was a cloak. ''Oh, how I've missed you!'' she mused, hugging the cloak to her chest.

''You hid it in a bush,'' he frowned.

The Time Lady pulled it on and tied it around her neck. ''Well, they're not commonplace in 2008, are they?''

He laughed and took her hand, walking towards the blue box. Before they stepped inside, they caught sight of Martha standing some feet away, a woman that must have been her sister talking to her. Both of them waved at her with smiles on their faces and the human smiled back at them.

Alexandra had really liked the woman, more than she would admit. Not only did she reveal the alien, but she saved the Doctor when the Time Lady was unable too. While she was lying there, her head filled with heavy stones and sound being augmented to painful screeches once it reached her ears, the Doctor was dying right next to her. And she couldn't raise herself up to help him; hell, it had even been hard to breathe. And that woman, Martha Jones, had saved him, had brought him back to life when he was dancing at the edge of it, threatening to jump off. Even if it would take a while for her to admit it, she was grateful for her help.

But that situation got her thinking. What if one day, for real, something happened to the Doctor while he was waiting for her to say yes? What if, heaven forbid, he died and she didn't even know where he was to go and find him? And even if she was there with him, could she stand the burden of him dying while she was there to help but was unable to? How would she feel then? That past day she had fought with all her might against the force that threatened to take control of her life just to get to the Doctor's side in time to save him, and even that attempt had nearly gone downhill. How would she fare if, the next time she went to save him, she was too late?

The pair entered the TARDIS, the Doctor closing the door behind him. ''Well then, that was fun! Where should we go next?''

Alexandra laughed, taking him by the arm. ''Oh, you're going nowhere, mister, until you have recovered.'' She guided him to the pilot's chair and made him sit down.

At her response he actually pouted. ''Recovered from what?''

''Well, blood loss, for starters,'' she said, working on the console.

''I'm perfectly fine, thank you! And with you here watching over me, I'll be right as rain!''

''Who said it'd be staying?'' she asked, sending the TARDIS into flight, and the Doctor's expression fell slightly.

His last comment had been a shot in the dark, he knew that, but her answer yet again wasn't the one he was expecting. ''Well, I thought, after the adventure we just had-''

''I'll go back to base,'' she cut him off. ''I've got some things to take care off first.''

''Then you'll come with me?'' he asked, his voice taking on a hopeful tone at the end...

...which didn't go amiss from her, seeing that she was smiling when she turned around from inputting a command to face him. ''Once you see me as a person and not as a responsibility, then yes, I'll consider coming along.''

His gaze dropped to the floor for a moment before he looked up at her again. ''I don't see you as a responsibility,'' he said, even though it sounded very weak even to his own ears.

''You see me as your best friend's daughter,'' she insisted. ''Which is exactly the same as seeing me as your responsibility.''

''How so?'' he just had to ask.

Alexandra threw her hands in the air in exasperation. ''Because you feel like you owe her to take care of me now that she's gone! You see me as part of her, not as a completely different person! I don't need a father, Doctor; I've lived long enough without one to have grown used to the absence of a father figure. What I need is a friend and that's what you need, as well, but I can't be that for you with the tag 'Romana's daughter' over my head.''

For a moment, he remained silent, considering what she had said and taking special notice of the fact that she had used his title instead of his name, and then he nodded slowly. ''You want me as your friend,'' he agreed, even though his mind screamed that he couldn't see her as such, not completely yet, anyway.

''Yes, a mate,'' she nodded with him.

''A friend or a mate?'' he asked, eyebrows raised playfully.

Alexandra chuckled and pulled down a lever in retaliation, landing the TARDIS. She pushed off the console. ''So, this is me.''

The Doctor jumped up from his seat, not even realising how smoothly they had been flying until she landed. ''What, won't you tell me what you've been up to?''

She shook her head. ''Not right now, sorry.'' Then, she spread her hands expectantly, earning a confused glance from the Doctor. She rolled her eyes. ''I do hugs, you know.''

That, on the other hand, earned her a smile from him as he wrapped his arms around her waist, her doing the same. After a few rather long moments in each other's embrace, they broke away, looking around awkwardly.

''So...'' the Doctor trailed, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

''You should say thank you to Martha,'' Alexandra said out of the blue. ''You didn't with all that going on.''

He nodded in agreement; anything to escape the uncomfortable silence they had fallen into. ''Yes, I should. I really should-''

''Take her on a thank you trip,'' she suggested.

He half-groaned. ''Oh, don't start!''

''You didn't even let me finish!'' she countered.

''Well, there's nothing to finish, cause I'm not taking her on.''

''What, not even for a single trip? Is taking her on for one single trip through time too much? She saved your life!''

''Yeah, but you could've done that!''

''But I couldn't.'' The deeper meaning of her words hit him like a train on a track and he had to physically pause. Even though the fact that she had been late to come inside and help him still bothered him, he had to agree that she wouldn't be there at all should similar situations arise. And really, what would be the harm in taking Martha for a ''thank you'' trip?

''Fine,'' he agreed at last, pointing at her face. ''But only for one trip!''

She raised her hands in defence. ''I'm not gonna tell you how long you're going to keep her; I'm not the boss of you.'' Before he could register what was happening, she stood on her tiptoes and placed a small peck on his cheek, sauntering to the doors as soon as she broke away. ''Till the next time, yeah?''

He shook himself out of his shock long enough to reply. ''Looking forward to it!'' he smiled at her.

Her hand rested on the door knob for a short moment before she turned around to look at him, an almost wishful look on her face. ''Goodbye, Theta.''

The Doctor nodded in recognition. ''Goodbye, Valyria.''

With a final nod and a smile of her own, Alexandra opened the door and stepped outside into an overcast day in Cardiff, only the afternoon of the hospital attack. As soon as the doors where closed, the time machine started dematerializing behind her, the sound making her hearts break.

Every time she entered the TARDIS, it became harder and harder to leave. Would she be able to tear herself away next time?

A few feet away, out of her line of sight, a woman stopped over a big circular piece of what appeared to be the surface part of a wall lying on the ground, a black leather jacket on top of it. Examining the artefacts, her hand flew to take the jacket and she ran away, hoping no one saw her.


	5. Public Relations

All eyes were trained on the hospital and its bizarre disappearance that day. Its miraculous return had moved a lot of people that usually wouldn't be affected by such events, while others were inclined to believe that the patients' tales of ''rhinos walking amongst them carrying guns'' were actual proof that aliens, indeed, existed. As hard as it was to believe, even some of the most doubtful folk had to accept its plausibility.

So what better way to instil people's faith in their party than to be present at the scene of the crime?

The lone, slick black car - exuding an air of authority with its image alone - slid across the pavement in front of the hospital; it didn't take long for the reporters gathered to register its appearance. They flocked around it like children at the window of a candy store, eager to see if the occupant would award them with a good scoop, and the contents sure weren't disappointing. The back door opened and two slender legs touched the pavement, clad in black heels, followed by the body of a woman who sure had made an impression these past months.

Her blonde hair was tied at the back of her head in an intricate bun. Her attire added to the air of superiority that clung to her, professional and on point for the position she held and the people she was fraternizing with. Her face, with its sharp cheekbones, triangular jaw, thin pink lips set in a crooked smirk, and cold blue eyes which didn't betray any emotion, gave the impression that she knew secrets that could topple the government. And she sure as hell did.

Even before she climbed fully out of the car, the flashes of the cameras blinded her as photographers clicked away to capture her on film. Microphones were thrust towards her face, and she never let her smirk slip. This mission was too important to mess up.

''Miss Saxon, Miss Saxon! Do you think the incidents of today prove Mr. Saxon's theory that aliens exist?'' one reporter eagerly called for her attention, tilting his microphone towards her.

She gave an almost inaudible scoff. ''A theory usually isn't accompanied by hard evidence to prove itself; Mr. Saxon's _statement_, however, has had all the evidence it needed right from the start. This incident merely expands on the fact that extraterrestrial life forms have taken an interest in planet Earth.''

''So you believe they will come back?'' another asked.

''It is not a farfetched idea, no.''

''Miss Saxon! What of Mr. Saxon's campaign will change now in the light of recent events?''

''Nothing at all. Harold Saxon has always been a vocal believer of the existence of alien life and his actions have been executed accordingly. On the contrary, the rest of the world should change its perspective.'' Most of the reporters' faces filled with confusion, a thing oddly satisfying to her. ''It is time to stop pretending we are the only beings occupying this universe and start thinking about the possibility of aliens coming to stay. It is Mr. Saxon's intention to turn the people of Britain into open-minded, capable citizens of the world, but it has to be a joined effort if he is to succeed. And for any further comments on the matter, I think you should probably ask him in person. That will be all.'' And with that she pushed her way through the crowd of reporters, her bodyguards helping her make way.

It was a long battle through the crowds to the back, but when she finally reached the ambulance, she was satisfied to see that her target hadn't left just yet. A reporter had just left Oliver Morgenstern sitting by himself at the back of the ambulance, looking very lost in thought, so much so that he didn't even notice her approaching until she sat down next to him.

''Mind if I join you?'' she asked after she had already done so. The bodyguards made sure no reporter approached.

To his defence, Oliver looked flustered in the presence of such a known figure, running a hand through his hair nervously. ''Oh, yeah… Miss Saxon, wow, I… didn't know you would be-''

''I'm aware,'' she not-so-gently cut him off. ''But a few public appearances right before the elections are always good for the numbers. Mr. Morgenstern, the bravery and levelheadedness you showcased today were admirable. You were, truly, what humanity should represent, and Great Britain couldn't be prouder.''

''I-I-I-yes, I…'' he stammered before clearing his throat and puffing out his chest slightly. ''Thank you very much, Miss Saxon.''

''In fact,'' she went on as if she hadn't heard him speak, ''we have arranged an interview on the radio for you to speak of your experience tonight, but it would be no bother if you couldn't make it.'' The look in her eyes told him it would be a pretty big bother, but he wouldn't say that. Not in front of her, at least.

''No, I would be glad to give an interview – on the radio, you said?''

''Yes, I did. Now,'' she scooted a little closer, taking one of his hands in both of hers, ''I'd like you to tell me what happened. In exact detail, if you could.''

He was taken aback by her sudden interest in what had happened – and the sudden contact –, but hadn't they been talking about it? Surely, she would have liked to know what had gone down on the moon from a valid source who had been part of the action. He cleared his throat. ''Well, everything was going fine until that earthquake–''

''No, no, Oliver, that's not what I meant. I'd like you to start from the very beginning. How was your day at the hospital? What were you doing _before_ the quake?''

Oliver could only blink at the question. ''B-before?''

She gave a small laugh. ''Surely, a medical student such as yourself has duties within the hospital.''

The easiness with which she was talking was slowly unwinding him, a thing most welcome at the moment. She was just interested in his life outside of the incident, what was wrong about that? ''Of course, I do. We were on our usual rounds – visiting new admittances and stuff.''

''Oh!'' her whole face lit up. ''Met any interesting patients?''

''The usual lot, nothing fancy about them – though there was one man who thought he had met Benjamin Franklin! John Smith, I think his name was.''

Her smile widened. _Now we're getting somewhere._ ''Tell me about him. Was he alone?''


	6. New York State of Mind

A/N: Heck, it's been a while… Hello…

I wanted to edit this chapter so much, but then came responsibilities and a GoT marathon before the new series started and the excellent idea of binge watching season 1 of _Daredevil_ (earning a new obsession and new actor to fangirl over whenever I come across him on my dash), so this was pushed back… but finally, right before my exams, I sat down and finished this, and now, after being officially beta-approved, it's ready for consumption! I'll probably upload one more chapter during my finals (the second part of this episode needs heavy editing) when the more difficult subjects are out of the way.

Enjoy, and remember: reviews are much appreciated!

* * *

No sooner had the TARDIS touched down in their new location had Martha skipped towards the door, and the Doctor couldn't help but smile. If he was being honest with himself, he would have to say that he had enjoyed travelling with Martha Jones. The one trip through time had extended to ''one trip to the past, one trip to the future'' where that ended with him talking to her about the Time Lords and Gallifrey (an action more cathartic than anything he had done after the war), and then he had promised her a detour on her way home. The woman fit remarkably well into the shoes of a time traveller, and he had caught himself thinking what he would do when she went away. Like Alexandra had.

''Where are we?'' she asked once she was out the door, looking at the sea surrounding the small island they found themselves on.

''Ah, smell that Atlantic breeze!'' he said, smiling excitedly as he shrugged on his coat and closed the door behind him. ''Nice and cold. Lovely. Martha, have you met my friend?'' He gestured upwards, and she looked up to see none other than the Statue of Liberty towering above them in all its glory.

''Is that-? Oh my God! That's the Statue of Liberty!'' she exclaimed, doing a double take.

''Gateway to the New World,'' the Doctor said. '''Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free...'''

She stared at the statue in awe. ''That's so brilliant. I've always wanted to go to New York. I mean the real New York, not the new, new, new, new, new one…''

He turned around to gaze at the Manhattan skyline spreading before them across the canal. ''Well, there's the genuine article. 'So good, they named it twice'. Mind you, it was New Amsterdam originally,'' he explained. ''Harder to say twice. No wonder it didn't catch on. New Amsterdam, New Amsterdam.''

Martha let out a small laugh. ''I wonder what year it is. Cause look, the Empire State Building's not even finished yet.''

''Work in progress,'' the Doctor remarked. '' Still got a couple floors to go, and if I know my history, that makes the date somewhere around-''

''November 1, 1930.''

He blinked in surprise. ''You're getting good at this,'' he remarked before turning to look at her… and the newspaper she was holding.

''Eighty years ago,'' she breathed, looking at Manhattan as she handed it to him. ''It's funny 'cause you see all those old newsreels in black and white like it's so far away, but here we are! It's real, it's now!'' she laughed and looked up at the Doctor. ''Come on, you. Where do we go first?''

His eyes, however, had just scoured the first page of the paper and he simply showed her the headline in reply. ''I think our detour just got longer.''

''_'Hooverville Mystery Deepens'_,'' Martha read out loud. ''What's Hooverville?''

~\8/~

''Herbert Hoover,'' the Doctor explained to Martha as they walked through Central Park, which was coloured orange by all the fallen leaves resting on the ground, ''31st President of the USA, came to power a year ago. Up till then New York was a boom town, the Roaring Twenties, and then…''

''The Wall Street Crash, yeah?'' she asked. She was holding her jacket closer to herself to shield her body from the cold. ''When was that, 1929?''

''Yeah,'' he confirmed. ''Whole economy wiped out overnight, thousands of people unemployed. Suddenly the huddled masses doubled in number with nowhere to go. So they ended up here in Central Park.''

''What? They actually _live_ in the park? In the middle of the city?'' she wondered as they passed underneath a wooden arch reading ''HOOVERVILLE'' in white letters. Its image showed exactly what it had been built for; it was a collection of quickly put together shacks and tents, with random fire barrels placed throughout to keep the inhabitants warm. People in worn clothing walked around or sat outside their new homes, studying Martha and the Doctor as they walked past.

''Ordinary people,'' the Doctor mumbled in thought. ''Lost their jobs. Couldn't pay the rent and they lost everything. There are places like this all over America. You only come to Hooverville when there's nowhere else to go.''

''You thievin' lowlife!''

The cry came from up ahead and they both shared a confused glance before heading for the source of the commotion, a small square where one man was having a go at another. A black man was throwing punches at a white one, who tried to defend himself but ultimately found himself on the ground one time too many. Even when two other men came to help separate them, the assailant showed great resistance and kept at it.

''Cut that out!'' someone shouted and they saw an older black man in a hat approach, but the two men ignored him and kept fighting, making him push them apart himself. ''Cut that out! Right now!''

''He stole my bread!'' the first man shouted, pointing angrily at the other one.

''What happened here?!''

The Doctor's hearts skipped a beat at the sound of that voice even before she came running towards the scene. But there came Alexandra, dressed very much for the period in a heavy dark grey coat, a crème checkered skirt that went past her knees and worn brown leather boots. She stopped short before the three men and looked at them the same way an angry sister would at her siblings who had just taken something without asking. Even the man who had been beaten looked down in shame at the sight of her.

''I got it,'' the older man said and turned his eyes to the beaten one. ''Did you take it?''

Alexandra stared at him intently.

''I don't know what happened, he just went crazy!'' he replied. The first man lunged at him, but he was held back by a group of people that had gathered there.

''Cut it, okay?'' Alexandra went to stand between them before turning her eyes on the accused. ''Now, lying to me is a bad idea, but lying to Solomon? That's insulting.''

The man looked between her and Solomon before sighing. ''I'm starvin', Solomon,'' he confessed.

Solomon pursed his lips and held out his hand. The second man reached inside his coat and took out the loaf of bread he had taken, handing it over. ''We're all starvin','' Solomon said as he broke it in half and handed each man a piece. ''We all got families somewhere. No stealin' and no fightin', you know the rules!'' He then addressed the crowd that had gathered around them. ''Thirteen years ago I fought in the Great War. A lot of us did. And the only reason we got through was because we _stuck together_! No matter how bad things get, we still act like human beings. It's all we got.''

The men didn't say anything as they turned their backs to each other and walked away.

Alexandra dusted her coat off and turned to leave, but when she turned around her eyes landed on the Doctor and Martha and her face broke into a huge grin. He couldn't help it: he smiled as well, and he barely had time to catch her in his arms as she practically leaped at him, spinning her around twice.

''I can't believe you're here!'' she breathed in his ear.

The Doctor gave a laugh as he set her down to look in her eyes. ''Yes, we are! But how are you here?'' Looking at her, he didn't see anything different about her, though her eyes didn't have the same glint they had some two days ago - the last time he had seen her.

Alexandra's eyes instead wafted over to Martha. ''Martha Jones, what a pleasure!'' she exclaimed and let go of the Doctor to hug her. ''How have you been?'' she asked.

The girl was startled at first, but she quickly hugged the Time Lady back. ''Fine; how are you?''

''Oh, you know, the same,'' she replied as she let go to examine her. ''Time travel suits you well.''

''Thanks!" Martha laughed, stealing a quick glance at the Doctor. ''It's only been two days, but I'm learning.''

At that remark, Alexandra's face fell slightly. ''Two days, huh? How time flies…''

The Doctor knitted his eyebrows together. ''Why, how long has it been for you?''

She released Martha to clasp her hands in front of her in a nervous manner. ''Must have been… five years? I've only been in 1930 for a year or so.''

''Five years?'' Martha echoed in shock. ''The hospital was five years ago for you?!''

The Doctor just stared at her blankly. Five years. That made her, what, 536? That was 201 in her mind. ''Why have you stuck around in 1930 for a year?'' he asked.

Alexandra crossed her hands over her chest. ''The bigger question is: how did you end up travelling for two days?'' she asked, effectively side-stepping the question.

''It was a thank-you gift,'' Martha replied as he shifted uncomfortably under the Time Lady's gaze, ''for helping out at the hospital, remember? He took me to meet Shakespeare and see New New York in the future!''

''And then he decided to show you the original one just for kicks.''

Martha blinked at how similar a remark that was to what he had said earlier, but she didn't point it out. ''It's a detour, actually. He's taking me home.''

Her eyes widened. ''So soon?'' she asked, looking up at him. ''Why?''

''Hey, Alexandra,'' Solomon called from behind them, and Alexandra turned her attention on him, making the Doctor sigh with relief. ''These two your friends?''

The Doctor stepped around Alexandra towards Solomon. ''I suppose you're the boss around here.''

''And, uh,'' he looked him and Martha up and down, ''who might you be?''

''This is the Doctor and Martha Jones,'' Alexandra introduced them, pointing to each of them in turn.

''A doctor!'' Solomon scoffed and looked around the settlement. ''Well, we got, uh, stockbrokers, we got a lawyer, but you're the first doctor. Alexandra usually patches up people the best she can, but we ain't have a real doctor. Neighbourhood gets classier by the day,'' he remarked as he put his hands over a makeshift fire to warm them.

''How many people live here?'' Martha asked.

''At any one time, hundreds. No place else to go. But I will say this about Hooverville. We are a truly equal society, black, white, all the same. All starvin','' he elaborated with a bitter laugh. ''So you're welcome. Both of you. Even more so if you're friends of Alexandra's.''

The woman in question chuckled. ''Would it have been any different if someone else had brought them here?'' she asked.

''You know what I'm talkin' about,'' he chastised her. ''This girl right here has helped half the people in Hooverville, whether it be givin' them advice, takin' care of them when they're sick or simply bringin' them here when there was no place for them. She has been (a) godsend to us in all the sense of the word.''

The Doctor couldn't help but smile with pride. ''That she is,'' he agreed and Alexandra lowered her gaze to her feet, a small smile hiding behind a curtain of her chestnut hair. Neither of them caught Martha's little frown.

Solomon nodded along. ''But tell me, Doctor, you're a man of learning, right? Explain this to me.'' He walked a little ways away, the small group following him until he reached a point where they could all see the Empire State Building looming in the distance. ''That there's going to be the tallest building in the world. How come they can do that, and we got people starvin' in the heart of Manhattan?''

They could simply stare up at it, not having a clue as to how to answer to the man.

The silence that had settled was broken by Alexandra a few moments later. ''What brought you here?''

The Doctor simply reached inside his coat and handed the newspaper to her.

She needed only look at the headline before nodding. ''I suppose I should have known. Stuff like this is like a beacon to you, innit?''

''As long as I'm not thrown into car trunks in handcuffs,'' he replied and she chuckled at the memory. ''But are people really going missing?''

''Sadly, yes,'' she sighed. ''Wanted to go out and investigate, but it's a bit hard to do so when you don't know what to look for.''

''Haven't you found any clues or anything?'' Martha asked.

''No. Although, there is this man that-''

''Alexandra! Can you come over?'' someone called behind them.

She briefly glanced in that direction. ''Sorry, urgent business,'' she excused herself, handing the newspaper back to the Doctor. ''You can talk to Solomon, if you'd like; I'm sure he'll be glad to help. I'll be back in a minute!'' And with one last lingering look and a smile at them, she turned on her heel and ran in the direction of the caller.

When they found Solomon again, he was throwing some coffee dregs onto a fire outside his tent. Once he saw them approach, he straightened up. ''Alexandra left?''

''She'll be back in a bit,'' the Doctor replied, holding the newspaper up for Solomon to see. ''She said you could help with this.''

The man took the paper from his hands and read the headline. ''It's a mystery, all right,'' he replied, heading into his tent.

''But what does missing mean?'' the Doctor asked from the opening. ''Men must come and go here all the time. It's not like anyone's keeping a register.''

''C'mon in,'' he beckoned them inside. The Doctor went to sit next to Solomon on the cot. ''This is different,'' the man said as Martha sat opposite from them.

''In what way?'' she inquired.

The man sighed. ''Someone takes them. At night. We hear something. Someone calls out for help. By the time we get there, they're gone. Like they vanish into thin air.''

''And you're sure someone's taking them?'' the Doctor asked.

He almost laughed. ''Doctor, when you got next to nothing, you hold on to the little you got. Your knife, blanket, you take it with you. You don't leave bread uneaten, fire still burning.''

''Have you been to the police?'' Martha asked him.

''We tried.''

Everyone turned to look as Alexandra made her way inside and sat down next to Martha, rubbing at her hands a bit. ''But why would they care for some poor soul from Hooverville?''

''So the question is,'' the Doctor started thoughtfully, ''who's taking them and what for?''

A young man stuck his head in the tent. ''Solomon, Mr. Diagoras is here.''

Solomon seemed reluctant at first, but he picked up his hat and headed begrudgingly out of the tent. Alexandra immediately leapt up and followed after him, and the Doctor and Martha had no other choice but to follow their lead.

Mr. Diagoras was an obviously rich man in dark clothing, flanked by two bulky men. He sat on a crate, addressing the men in Hooverville. As soon as they were out of the tent, Alexandra grabbed hold of the Time Lord's arm. ''That's him,'' she whispered. ''That's the man I tried to tell you about.''

''I need men,'' he was saying. ''Volunteers. I got a little work for you and you sure look like you can use the money.''

Several men nodded in the crowd. The young man that had poked his head in the tent stepped closer. ''Yeah. What is the money?''

''A dollar a day,'' Mr. Diagoras replied and the men grumbled.

''What's the work?'' Solomon asked.

''A little trip down the sewers. Got a tunnel that collapsed needs clearing and fixing. Any takers?''

''A dollar a day? That's slave wage. And men don't always come back up, do they?''

''Accidents happen,'' Mr. Diagoras dismissed Solomon's sentiments.

The Doctor frowned. ''What do you mean? What sort of accidents?''

''You don't need the work? That's fine. Anybody else?'' The Doctor raised his hand. ''Enough with the questions!''

''Oh, n-n-no. I'm volunteering, I'll go,'' the Doctor offered and Alexandra raised an eyebrow. Leave it to him to find an unimaginable way to explore.

''Maybe a more conventional way of investigation would have been more appropriate,'' she mumbled, but he just smiled cheekily at her.

Next to them, Martha raised her own hand. ''I'll kill you for this,'' she said, looking up at the Doctor. Seeing the three of them, Solomon and the young man raised their hands, as well.

~\8/~

Frank, the young man, was the last to climb down the ladder into the sewers as Mr. Diagoras explained what they had to do. ''Turn left. Go about half a mile. Follow Tunnel 273. Fall's right ahead of you. You can't miss it.''

''And when do we get our dollar?'' Frank asked.

''When you come back up.''

''And if we don't come back up?'' the Doctor asked.

Mr. Diagoras stared at him. ''Then I got no one to pay.''

Solomon shone his torch in Mr. Diagoras' face. ''We'll be back.''

''Let's hope so,'' Martha mumbled.

''Well, at least we're not being chased by blood-sucking criminals this time,'' Alexandra said and did her best impression of Count Dracula with her cloak. Before they had left, the Time Lady had gone and changed into an attire that was more the human's contemporary: basically what she had been wearing at the hospital, though now her dress was dark blue. And to be honest, the effect was better with the cloak. Especially when she wiggled her eyebrows mischievously, Martha couldn't help but crack a smile.

While the others turned and started down the tunnel, the Doctor stared at Mr. Diagoras without saying a word, and the man stared right back at him. There was something off about him, he was sure, and Alexandra had sensed something, as well. He would be a fool not to trust his instincts or hers, and he was never a fool.

Alexandra had realized the Doctor wasn't following halfway through and had stopped to look at the little silent exchange. ''Doctor, come on.''

With a deep breath, he left Mr. Diagoras and turned around to join her. ''I don't like him,'' he mumbled low enough for her to hear.

She almost scoffed as she pulled on her hood. ''You and half of Manhattan.''

''We just gotta stick together,'' Frank was saying in front of them. ''It's easy to get lost. It's like a huge rabbit warren. You could hide an army down here.''

They walked in silence for a bit, shining their torches around. At some point the Doctor and Alexandra had found themselves in front of Frank and Martha and walking behind Solomon. As the youngest of the group talked, the Doctor turned to Alexandra.

''So how _did_ you end up in 1930? You never said.''

As she shone her torch around, he got the feeling that she didn't want to answer that question. ''Let's just say that it was by accident.''

''What do you mean?''

She sighed heavily. How could she say how she got here without alarming him? Though she had a pretty good idea why she could do what she did, the implications weren't a subject she wanted to delve into at the moment. ''I was experimenting with the vortex manipulator and it sent me here without warning. Problem is I arrived without it and now I'm stuck with no means of getting back.''

Well, it was half the truth, at least.

''How could it send you here without being in contact with you?'' he asked in puzzlement.

Alexandra simply shrugged. ''Search me, I don't know. Maybe it was feedback from a loose wire,'' she suggested, and the Doctor got the feeling that it was the end of that conversation.

Why she would hide things from him, he had no idea. But anyway, he was hiding things from her, as well. Though this time, something told him that he wouldn't like whatever she was hiding... but that served as a means for him to feed his curiosity even more.

''So this Diagoras bloke, who is he then?'' he changed the subject.

Before Alexandra could reply, Solomon stepped in. ''A couple of months ago, he was just another foreman. Now it seems like he's running most of Manhattan.''

''How did he manage that, then?''

''These are strange times. A man can go from being King of the Hill to the lowest of the low overnight. It's just for some folks it works the other way 'round.''

''Whoa!'' the Doctor exclaimed, shining his lantern on the ground. There, in the middle of the passage, lay a blob that gave off a sickly green light.

Martha came forward, shining her torch on it. ''Is it radioactive or something?''

The Doctor set down his lantern and crouched down next to it. Martha went to crouch next to him, while Alexandra looked over his shoulder, bending over him to look.

Martha got a whiff of it and covered her nose and mouth. ''It's gone off, whatever it is.''

The Doctor pulled on his specs and carefully took the slimy blob in his hands.

''And of course, you've got to pick it up,'' Alexandra commented with a scoff.

He sniffed it a bit. ''Shine your torch through it,'' he told Martha and she did so while he probed at it with his thumb.

''Composite organic matter,'' the Time Lady mumbled in thought and the Doctor nodded along. The more she looked at it, the more she got a feeling that she should know what it was, and she couldn't help but cringe at the sudden numbness generating between her eyes.

''Martha? Medical opinion?'' the Doctor turned to the human girl next to him.

Martha uncovered her mouth. ''It's not human. I know that.''

''No, it's not. And I'll tell you something else,'' he straightened up without warning, much to the Time Lady's surprise, looking around curiously as Solomon and Frank watched him in puzzlement. Her head span at the sudden movement and she rubbed at her forehead. ''We must be at least half a mile in and I don't see any sign of a collapse, do you? So why did Mr. Diagoras send us down here?''

The group shone their torches around the tunnel. Even in their dim light, they could all see it: there was no obvious collapse or damage like the one Diagoras had described.

''So where are we now?'' Martha asked. What's above us?''

''Well…'' the Doctor started, looking upwards, ''we're right underneath Manhattan.''

''Around the Empire State Building maybe?'' Alexandra whizzed as she let herself fall against the wall heavily. ''Maybe even right underneath?''

Frank caught her discomfort first. ''Alexandra, are you alright?'' he asked.

''Yeah, I'm... fine,'', she waved Frank off, taking a brave step off the wall… almost sliding down to the floor when she stumbled. In one long stride the Doctor was by her side, putting his arms around her to hold her up.

''No, you're not,'' he countered. Her face had turned pale and her legs were too weak to hold her whole weight. ''What's wrong? Tell me.''

She touched her forehead on the cold wall, seeking some relief from her horrible headache, only to come up with none. ''My head hurts,'' she moaned in the bricks.

Her rescuer carefully wound his arms around her frame and took her whole weight on him as he turned to lean on the wall instead of her. ''It's okay, I've got you, it's nothing,'' he said softly as they traded positions, and she could only cling to his shoulders, buried in his chest and slowly being enveloped by his scent, letting him hold her up while she couldn't.

And she couldn't shake the revelation that this headache was so very similar to the ones she had gotten as a human in the watch, when her brain had tried to give her memories her Time Lady self had. Though now she had nothing else to remember.

And she didn't know that the person who could single-handedly disprove that was currently stroking her hair as lightly as a feather.

~\8/~

A quarter of an hour later would find the Doctor helping Alexandra walk along as the group searched for the alleged collapse but finding no signs of it anywhere. If he was being honest, he had noticed that she had gotten progressively better as they moved, not leaning as heavily on him as when they had gotten a move on. But he wasn't about to let her go when he didn't know what was wrong with her, not before figuring out what lurked in the sewers.

''We're way beyond half a mile,'' Solomon said as they reached an intersection. ''There's no collapse, nothing.''

''That Diagoras bloke, was he lying?'' Martha asked.

''Looks like it,'' Alexandra replied.

''So why did he want people to come down here?'' Frank wondered aloud.

''Solomon, I think it's time you took these three back,'' the Doctor said, making Alexandra sit up straighter. ''I'll be much quicker on my own.''

''I'm not going anywhere!'' she protested and the Doctor sighed.

''Alexandra, you're not well-''

''I'm just fine! I think you're not well if you think you're staying down here on your own!''

They were interrupted by a loud squealing.

The sound bounced off the walls of the tunnels around them and they all looked frantically around. ''What the hell was that?'' Solomon asked.

''Hello?!'' Frank shouted and Martha shushed him.

''Frank, quiet!'' Alexandra chastised him.

''What if it's one of the folk gone missing?'' he defended. ''You'd be scared, half-mad down here on your own.''

''Do you think they're still alive?'' the Doctor asked him.

''Heck, we ain't seen no bodies down here. Maybe they just got lost.''

More squealing came from around them. They shone their torches around, but their light caught nothing.

''I know I never heard nobody make a sound like that,'' Solomon said.

The Time Lord looked at Alexandra, a question in his eyes. When she gave a small nod, he removed his hand from her waist and walked down the tunnel to their right, not too much, but enough to look.

''Sounds like there's more than one of 'em,'' Frank whispered.

''It could be the echo, though,'' Alexandra guessed, studying the tunnel they had come from with her light. Nothing was in the darkness, as far as she could see.

''This way,'' the Doctor called softly.

''No, that way,'' Solomon disagreed, shining his torch down the way they had come from.

''Doctor…''

The shaking whisper Martha gave, one undeniably laced with terror, had both Time Lords turn back to the group to see what was wrong. Her torch was pointed down the tunnel to their left.

The light of her torch had caught a huddled figure on the ground, its back on the wall behind it. From what they could see from where they stood, it didn't look _entirely_ human.

''Who are you?'' Solomon asked. No reply came.

''Are you lost?'' Frank tried. ''Can you understand me?'' When it didn't answer yet again, he took a few steps forward, towards the figure. ''I've been thinkin' about folk lost…''

Before he could approach it, though, the Doctor put his hand out. ''It's all right, Frank. Just stay back. Let me have a look.'' Slowly, he took some steps towards the figure, all the while shining his lantern at it. Alexandra was studying every step he took, heart in her mouth.

''He's got a point, though, my mate Frank,'' he told it. ''I'd hate to be stuck down here on my own.''

After a beat, the creature gave a small squeal, as if it understood.

''We know the way out,'' he continued, now a few feet away. ''Daylight. If you want to come with us.'' He squatted down in front of it and shone his light on its face…

…revealing the head of a pig man.

A small gasp came from behind him, probably from Alexandra. ''Oh, but what are you?'' he mumbled quietly at the sight.

''Is that, uh, some kind of carnival mask?'' Solomon asked.

He never heard her moving, but then Alexandra had squatted down next to him, examining it closely herself. ''No, Solomon,'' she told him sorrowfully as she reached out with one hand, touching its arm, ''it's real.'' Who could have done such a horrible thing to a human being?

''I'm sorry,'' the Doctor told it, true remorse in his voice. ''Now listen to me. I promise I can help. Who did this to you?''

''Guys, I think you'd better get back here,'' Martha called from behind them as more squeals came from somewhere _very_ near them. The Time Lords looked up to see more pig men ahead of them, enough to seal the opposite end of the tunnel. ''Doctor!''

He slowly stood up, taking Alexandra's hand in his and helping her up as well. ''Actually… good point.'' He started to back away, pulling her along, and she didn't even complain.

''They're following you,'' Martha observed, heart beating wildly in her chest.

''Yep, we noticed,'' Alexandra said as they reached them, the pig men right across from them, ''but thanks for the heads up.''

''Well then,'' the Doctor started, gripping her hand like it was a lifeline, ''Alexandra, Martha, Frank, Solomon…''

''Any clever suggestions at this point?'' Alexandra asked him, her whole body tense.

''One, actually,'' he replied.

''The usual, I suppose,'' she said with a small laugh. Anything to relieve the tension was fine with her.

''Um, basically… _run_!'' he shouted.

They needn't be told twice.

**P.S.: Who's watching Eurovision this week? Care to vent your enthusiasm or frustration in the comments or in a PM?**


	7. The Time Lords And The Show Girl

A/N: I PASSED MY EXAMS! Oh, I'm so glad this year hasn't been a huge flop again! To celebrate, have an extra long chapter to read! Sorry it took so long for me to update the story, but the harder subjects were scattered throughout the month, so studying came first.

Now, let's get down to business (to defeat the Huns!... I couldn't help myself). Seeing that the summer holidays have officially started for me, I will make it a habit to upload one chapter every Saturday (I wanted to upload this earlier, but I had to go out with my mum), except for two-parter episodes, where you will get two! This may be extended to any original chapters I write later on, as well. I don't know what I'm gonna do during the three-part finale, seeing as those chapters will be _super_ long and will probably have original scenes scattered throughout, but me and my beta (lots of kisses to her!) will try our best to keep you satisfied!

* * *

They all turned on their heels and ran like hell down the tunnel as the pig men squealed loudly, following without a second thought. The Doctor's hand had a death grip on Alexandra's as he pulled her along, and she couldn't complain about the pain; she was more focused on not slipping on the damp floor of the sewers and falling to the mercy of their pursuers.

The squeals of the pig men reverberated in the tunnels, turning the dark sewers into horror houses like the ones in carnivals. Though now the monster popping out of the dark wasn't fake, and its scream was disorienting the fleeing group, sending them down tunnels they were sure to get lost in.

Martha stopped at a cross section in confusion. ''Where are we going?!''

''This way!'' the Doctor turned right, pulling Alexandra along, and the group followed his blind lead.

The tunnels were a blur of shadows and grey walls, and the fact that they were running with all their might didn't help their sense of direction. In all this mess, it was a miracle Alexandra even spotted it.

''Wait, wait, wait!'' she shouted and tugged at the Doctor's hand to lead him back to the mouth of an adjoining tunnel they had just passed. At the end of it, there was a ladder leading upwards. ''There's a ladder! Come on, over here!''

The both of them made a mad dash for the ladder, and the Doctor dug inside his jacket, fishing out his sonic screwdriver just as they hit it at the same time. ''Go, go, go!'' he said with no hesitation, practically shoving her up and handing her the sonic as the others turned in the tunnel.

Alexandra made quick work of the sewer lid and it opened with a heavy metallic groan. She pushed it upwards and climbed up as quickly as she could, the Doctor nearly leaping up as soon as she was out. With a quick look around, she saw that they were in a brightly lit room with various benches and shelving units filled with what appeared to be theatre props, the massive structure serving as a makeshift wall to hide the sewer entrance.

''So you found it, I see,'' Alexandra remarked when he turned to help Martha, looking down at the screwdriver still in her hand.

''Yep, works like a charm, thanks!'' he replied, taking it back.

If the volume of the squealing was anything to go by, the pig men were fast approaching, or even at the mouth of the tunnel. Solomon was up next, but he hesitated just before climbing. ''Frank!'' he called towards the way they had come.

Her heart skipped a beat. She really wanted to look to see what was going on, but she would block the entrance if she did, and the cacophony of the pig cries wasn't making her any less uneasy. When Solomon got no answer, he turned and climbed, and the Doctor hauled him up with the rest of them.

''Where's Frank?'' she demanded.

''He's trying to hold them off!'' the man replied.

No sooner had the words left his mouth that Frank hit the ladder, climbing up like his life depended on it. The Doctor and Solomon reached down to grab Frank's outstretched hand. ''C'mon, Frank! C'mon!'' Solomon shouted. ''I've got ya!''

But the pig men swarmed around the ladder seconds later.

They grabbed his legs at the same time the two men caught his arm and both Solomon and the Doctor started shouting, trying to bring him up. The boy tried to climb up, but the pig men had removed him from the ladder altogether, and the only thing connecting him to the world above was the vice grip the men had on his hand. But they should have known it was to no avail: with an almighty tug, Frank's hand slipped out of reach and the pig men carried him away.

''No!'' Alexandra screamed, echoing the Doctor at that very moment, and made to run forward, but a panting Martha held her firmly by the arm.

Solomon shoved the Doctor away forcefully and sealed the lid again before any pig man made his way up. ''We can't go after him!''

Alexandra freed herself and almost lunged on the sewer lid. ''We've gotta go back, we can't just leave him down there with them!'' she shouted, trying to pry it open with her bare hands.

''No, I'm not losing anybody else!'' he shouted as he grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her away, as well. He had positioned himself just above the lid, standing directly on it so that neither she nor the Doctor could open it.

''I brought Frank to Hooverville, he's _my_ responsibility, you can't expect me to just leave him alone with those things!

''Those creatures were from Hell! From Hell itself! If we go after 'im, they'll take us all! There's nothing we can do. I'm sorry.''

The sheer anger burning in her icy blue eyes at that very moment as she stared him down actually made him take a step back. ''No, you're not sorry, and I'm not just gonna sit here doing nothing because YOU ARE TOO SCARED TO GO BACK DOWN!''

''All right then, put 'em up.''

Everyone tore their wide eyes away from the trembling alien (the Doctor with a little more difficulty than the rest) to see a slim woman with short blonde curly hair standing by the rows of shelves, a revolver in her hand, pointed straight at them. Martha gasped and put her hands up right away.

When the rest didn't follow, she cocked the gun impatiently. ''Hands in the air and no funny business!'' she ordered and Solomon, Alexandra and the Doctor raised their hands. ''Now tell me, you schmucks... what've you done with Lazlo?''

''Uh...'' Martha frowned, ''who's Lazlo?''

~\8/~

''Lazlo's my boyfriend.''

The woman was staring at herself in the mirror of the vanity table in her dressing room, where she had moved the quartet at gunpoint. They were all now standing at the door, the Doctor almost completely inside the room, Alexandra supporting her back on the frame next to Martha and Solomon in the hall, while she still held the revolver in her hand. ''Or _was_ my boyfriend until two weeks ago,'' she continued, turning to face them at the door, ''no letter, no good-bye, no nothin'. And I'm not stupid,'' she waved the gun around haphazardly, making them stand a little straighter, ''I know some guys are just pigs but not my Lazlo. I mean, what kinda guy asks you to meet his mum before he vamooses?"

''Yeah, might – might just help if you put that down,'' the Doctor, who was closest to her, said, pointing at the gun in her hand.

''Huh?'' she asked in confusion. Then she looked at her hand and shrugged. ''Oh, sure.'' She tossed it at a nearby chair full of props and silk robes and the others flinched back. ''Oh, c'mon, it's not real, it's just a prop! It was either that or a spear.''

''Do you have any idea what could have happened to Lazlo?'' Alexandra asked her.

''I wish I knew. One minute he's there, the next, zip – vanished.''

''Listen,'' the Doctor said, walking closer now that there was no threat on his life, ''ah, what was your name?''

''Tallulah.''

''Tallulah-''

''3 Ls and an H.''

''Right,'' the Doctor nodded. ''Um, we can try to find Lazlo, but he's not the only one. There are people disappearing every night.''

''And there are creatures,'' Solomon said from the back, looking up and down the corridor as if the pig men would jump at him at any moment. ''Such creatures...''

Tallulah looked around at him. ''Whaddaya mean 'creatures'?''

Alexandra straightened her shoulders tensely. ''Relax, Solomon,'' she said, giving him a pointed look, ''they'll be too busy dragging Frank who-knows-where to jump at you now.''

Solomon held her gaze for only a moment before he looked away in guilt.

''Look. Listen, just trust me,'' the Doctor diverted the attention to himself again. ''Everyone is in danger.'' With his right hand, he reached inside his coat pocket. ''I need to find out exactly what this is,'' he said and showed the contents to Tallulah, ''because I don't know exactly what we're fighting.''

Tallulah leaned back in disgust. ''Yech!''

Between the darkness in the sewers and fighting her awful headache, Alexandra hadn't noticed he had pocketed the blob they had found down there. She cast her eyes downwards, resisting the urge to chuck it out of a window. ''You think you can build a scanner here?''

''Can't see why not,'' he said with a glance at her.

She raised an eyebrow. ''Really?'' she asked incredulously.

He just winked with a smile.

~\8/~

The Doctor ran around the props room, taking various items from the shelves and equipment and gathering them at one of the tables under the watchful eye of Alexandra, who stood leaning against one of the shelving units with her arms crossed. He had long discarded his coat somewhere in the room. ''This place is filled with stuff we could use, I'll have it done before you even know it.''

''Seriously, though?'' she gaped. ''You can build a DNA scanner out of theatre props?''

''Oh yes!'' he cheered as he set the crown of a spotlight down among the other knick-knacks he had gathered. ''And then we can find out which one of our friends is lurking in Manhattan.''

''Hang on, let me do something! You build the scanner, I'll examine it when it's done.''

The Doctor stopped and raised an eyebrow. ''Really?''

For show, Alexandra cracked her knuckles. ''Haven't been around lab equipment in a while, I've missed the feeling of being the Queen of the Lab.'' She smiled in the end, as if the title was an inside joke.

''What kind of lab equipment?'' he asked, intrigued as he leaned against the table.

With a smile, she walked over and sat on the table next to him. ''You are talking to a professor of genetics at Luna University, mister. Mostly 51st and 52nd century, and mostly specializing in evo devo, so DNA's my main thing. Like yours is building _DNA scanners_ out of _theatre props_ on _early 19th century Earth!_''

The amazement that was still in her voice made him laugh. ''It's not that hard! I bet you could do it if you tried!''

She chuckled. ''Well, right now I can barely screw in light bulbs correctly. Stop laughing, this is serious!'' she added with a light shove at his shoulder when he almost doubled over and fell off the table laughing.

''How do you even operate the machines you work with?!''

''Operating is easy!'' she said indignantly. ''It's repairing that is hard!''

With some miracle, he managed to contain himself at that. ''Well, you can leave the repairing to me, then. Not so hard, hey?''

The Time Lady stared at him for a moment before smiling slightly. ''Yeah, you can have the repairing from now on,'' she agreed, looking away with a small chuckle. ''Might save the universe from me with your skills.''

His hearts skipped a beat. Was she agreeing to come along with him? Was that what the remark was about? He didn't even want to consider that she was agreeing with him until she explicitly said so, but could that be it?

He couldn't help but study her as she sat next to him. Her gaze was cast downwards, hair falling over her right shoulder, her hands gripping the table a little tighter than needed. If he didn't know better (which he guessed he didn't), he'd say she was nervous. ''Are you alright?''

Her eyes met his own. ''Yeah,'' she reassured him, albeit weakly even to her own ears.

''You sure?''

''More or less.''

The Doctor leaned a little closer to her. ''Are you sure you can examine it without it affecting you?''

''I...'' The long sigh she gave in reply made him frown. ''I don't know. I don't even know why I did that!'' she threw her hands up in exasperation before bringing them hard back down on the table, rocking back and forth on the spot. ''It's never happened before, it had no reason to-''

''Hey,'' he said softly, brushing his shoulder against hers so that she could look at him. ''I'll be with you every step of the way. Everything you need, I'll be right next to you, okay?''

He couldn't describe why it felt so rewarding seeing the lines of worry in her face smooth out, or that the sole attention of her eyes was him staring at her, waiting for a reply. After a while, she nodded. ''Okay.''

The Doctor smiled at her and laid a comforting hand on the one next to his own, giving it a light squeeze.

As if she had just remembered something important, Alexandra's eyebrows shot up to her hairline and she jumped up. ''Wait, I have to show you something that I found!'' she said and dashed behind one of the shelves, leaving him sitting there on his own. When she re-emerged, she was holding a white feather boa in one hand and a long thin black cigarette holder in the other.

The Doctor frowned at the items. ''I can't use these. Well, maybe the pipe, but the feathers..."

''They're not for you,'' she declared. In one swift motion, she untied her cloak and discarded it on the shelves next to her, wrapping the boa around her neck. She flipped one end over her shoulder. ''Not bad, huh?'' she asked, touching the pipe on her lips and putting a hand on her hip teasingly.

A laugh found its way out of his mouth at her antics. ''Oh, not bad at all!''

Encouraged by his response, she started dancing a small jig, swaying to inaudible music, the train of her dress swirling around her legs, all the while taking steps closer to him. ''_What could permitting some prophet of doom  
To wipe every smile away  
Life is a cabaret, old chum  
So come to the cabaret!_'' she sang as she got nearer, teasing the tip of his nose with one end of the boa with a grin.

''No, no, that one won't come out for 36 years!'' he said as he stood up and grabbed her by the waist, putting one hand over her mouth, though he couldn't help but laugh at the small impromptu show she had set up. Alexandra threw her head back and laughed, as well, grabbing the Doctor's arms for support.

Oh, it was so relieving to have a good laugh for once, and with company like that, how could he not? She had a way to make him smile in the craziest occasions. If only she agreed to travel with him in the TARDIS, then maybe he would laugh more often...

He stopped a moment to study her. After Rose, he had felt numb for months, not able to feel anything other than his sorrow. And there she came, a human that had stumbled upon his TARDIS by accident (though lately he couldn't help but think that the TARDIS hadn't parked there quite by accident), who had made his head spin with the baggage she carried, only for him to find out she was a Time Lady in disguise. And what a Time Lady she was. Resourceful, quick on her feet, caring... He didn't know what he would have been doing now if she hadn't let go of the vortex that fateful night and hadn't escaped with only mild cellular degeneration, but he knew that whatever it was that she offered him did him good... and he needed it more often than not. At that moment, he had to agree with her: he needed a friend, someone to understand him, and if he hid himself behind the facade of a parent and an adult just for her, he would lose one of the greatest opportunities the universe had ever presented him with after the war.

To have Alexandra on board the TARDIS as his confidant.

The fact that she was a Time Lord was only an added bonus.

Seeing him looking down at her, she paused. ''What is it?'' she asked, eyes alight.

He shook his head out of his thoughts with a smile. ''Nothing,'' he assured her, only then realizing their close proximity...

Steps coming towards them made them scramble apart just as Solomon came from around the corner. ''How about this?'' he asked holding up a small red radio. ''I found it backstage.''

The Doctor took it from his hands as Alexandra put the items back where they belonged, just to have an excuse not to look at the man who had just entered. ''Perfect,'' he said, flipping it in his hands. He took off the lid on the back. ''It's the capacitors I need. I'm just rigging up a crude little DNA scan for this beastie. If we can get a chromosomal reading, we'll find out where it's from,'' he explained as he used the sonic on the radio's insides.

Solomon had been looking the Doctor up and down while he talked, curiosity evident in his gaze. ''How about you, Doctor? Where are you from? I've been all over. I've never heard anybody talk like you. Maybe Alexandra a few times, and that's saying something. Just exactly who are you?''

He took out a piece of the radio and blew on it before replying. ''Oh, I'm just sort of passing by."

''I'm not a fool, Doctor,'' Solomon told him sternly.

He looked at Solomon for a bit and stopped what he was doing. ''No,'' he agreed. ''Sorry."

Solomon didn't say a word as he walked back to the sewer lid, and the Time Lords followed him at a distance. The man was staring at the lid intently, as if he could will it to disappear with his gaze, but he stole a quick glance at Alexandra off to the side. ''Alexandra was right, back then,'' he admitted and she frowned. ''I was scared, Doctor. I let them take Frank 'cause I was just... so scared.''

Alexandra pursed her lips. ''You're only human,'' she said softly, ''but Frank is, too. Do you think he wasn't as scared as you?''

Solomon held her gaze, but chose not to reply, only staring at the lid for a while longer before he took a deep breath. ''I gotta get back to Hooverville,'' he said, walking past them. ''With these creatures on the loose, we gotta protect ourselves. Ain't no one else gonna help us.''

''Good luck,'' the Doctor called to his retreating back.

Solomon paused and turned around to give him a nod. ''I hope you find what you're looking for. For all our sakes."

''Keep them safe, Solomon,'' Alexandra said. ''Can you do that for me while I'm here?''

The man studied her for a moment. ''That I'll try. Just don't forget who you're leavin' behind when you take your leave after this is all over.'' And with that, he walked out of the room.

Alexandra remained frozen on the spot even after the Doctor had resumed his work. How could he have known that she wanted to leave? She hadn't told anyone!

But then another question entered her mind as she looked back at the Doctor: was it that obvious?

~\8/~

It hadn't taken that long for him to bring the scanner together, and now the Doctor and Alexandra had commandeered one of the vacant balconies that was under renovation above the audience to set up their ''lab''. It would give them all the privacy they needed, and they could even ''borrow'' some of the theatre's equipment, like the spotlight Alexandra was now training on the blob, which had been hooked up to the scanner by the Doctor.

''A little warming up should do it,'' she mumbled as she dusted her hands off and clasped them in front of her nervously. ''Get cellular respiration going again.''

The Doctor was still connecting some wiring, but when he felt her hover above him, he stared up at her to see she was looking at anywhere but the blob. ''Come on, then,'' he urged her, offering a hand. ''I'm right here.''

She stared at his hand in thought and exhaled loudly before taking it. He helped her down on her knees one seat below the scanner, where she had laid her cloak on the red lining to keep the dust away, and when she had settled down next to him, he dug inside his pocket and offered her his glasses.

''What are these for? Don't you need them?'' she asked, puzzled.

He simply shrugged. ''I wear them cause they make me look clever."

She raised an eyebrow. ''And you're giving them to me to make me look clever?''

''Nah, you know you're clever, I know you're absolutely _brilliant_, but I'm giving them to you to show _this_ guy,'' he motioned at their specimen with his chin, ''that you're not messing around.''

Alexandra gave him a small smile and took the glasses from him. They didn't quite fit on her nose, and when she turned to him for approval, he bit his bottom lip to stifle a laugh. ''Too ridiculous?''

''Too academic,'' he amended. ''Maybe a metal skeleton... moon shaped lenses...''

She shook her head at the suggestion with a scrunch of her nose and turned to the task at hand. ''Okay, mister, you're going down,'' she mumbled in a serious voice and activated the sonic screwdriver, which was now a part of the scanner.

The Doctor watched her work with interest. She remained focused on what she was doing, with no deviations while she changed the settings on the screwdriver and an interface he had hooked up on the side; she only looked away to rub at her eyes once. He had expected this examination to go a whole lot worse, but she was doing her best, and it was more than enough.

At one point, she sat up straighter and probed at the mass with a little more persistence than before. ''It's artificial!''

The Time Lord frowned. ''What?''

''It's been genetically engineered,'' she explained, changing the setting a little bit more and giving him his glasses back. ''It's been cooked up in a lab, look!''

She moved a bit to the side to offer him her place in front of the scanner, and he put his glasses on as he listened intently to the frequency of the sonic before he raised his eyebrows in surprise. ''You're right. Whoever this is, oh, you're clever.''

''... with Heaven and Hell!'' the announcer said in the background and they couldn't help but sneak a glance at the stage below.

The red curtains parted to reveal chorus girls in two rows dressed in sequin dresses with red and silver accents, horns and tails, holding red feather fans in the space between them. One by one they lifted their fans to reveal Tallulah herself in the back, in a completely silver dress with a halo and white feather wings. She sashayed towards the microphone, striking poses as she went, and took her place in front of it to sing.

''_You lured me in with your cold grey eyes  
Your simple smile and your bewitching lies  
One and one and one is three  
My bad, bad angel, the Devil and me!  
You put the devil in me  
You put the devil in me  
You put the devil in me  
You put the devil in me!_''

Alexandra shrugged. ''Seen better,'' she commented.

''It's not like it's Broadway, what did you expect?'' the Doctor remarked, turning back to their examination.

''Digging the song though,'' she said and joined him again, turning her back just as Martha tried to make her way across the stage...

''Are you thinking what I'm thinking?'' he asked.

''That every type of DNA falls within a certain category depending on the biological form?''

''Yeah, that one,'' he agreed and took out his stethoscope, placing it in the centre of the blob to listen more closely to the vibrations. Alexandra had to arch her body above him to set the frequency accordingly, a position that wasn't exactly comfortable.

''I think... Wait, I got it!'' he said and she almost toppled on him uncurling herself from above him. ''Fundamental DNA type 467-989... 989,'' he mumbled, rubbing at his eyes.

She frowned. ''989? I haven't come across that in any lab...'' she said in thought before it hit her. ''Hang on, that's-''

''Planet of origin,'' he nodded, his eyes closed as he crossed off planets in his mind until a shocked expression crossed his face.

''Doctor? What's wrong?''

His eyes flew to hers. There was undeniable horror mixed in the brown, one she had only come close to seeing the night she sent him away. ''It's Skaro.''

_Skaro._ The name echoed in the deepest crevices of her mind, coming back even more magnified, dragging along the deepest sorrow she had ever felt. _Skaro, Skaro, Skaro..._

**...oOo...**

_The shaking of the crate did nothing to calm her crying down. Halfway through her trip, sitting in the darkness, she had thought her tears would stop, for she could have no more of them to spill. But they hadn't, and she felt the damp fabric of her robes against her belly. They were dead. The only women she had thought of as family were dead and she was still alive to remember how it happened._

_The tingling sensation on her fingers hadn't receded since it started during the attack. At one point they had started glowing faintly, but that happened all the time on Karn and she dismissed it quickly. She didn't have time to bother with her gift today. Today was for grieving, and that was what she would do. Grieve for her lost sisters. Grieve for the universe. Grieve for her future life lost to fire._

_No one survived the Daleks, she knew that. Even more if they were a Time Lord. Right now, her species was a curse she unwillingly carried. No one had ever cared about her species (apart from the Sisters sometimes), so she had never cared about it, either. Today though, they cared. And if they cared, it was time for her to care, as well. She wouldn't be alive for long, anyway._

_Through the small round hole on one wall of the crate she could see the planet she was on. Spherical buildings towered above her on either side, Daleks flying in and out of them. Saucers primed for battle were stationed outside, ready for flight, and some of the creatures loaded various equipment inside._

_What really caught her eye and made her almost try and fit through the small hole to get a better look was the gigantic statue of a Dalek that surpassed all other buildings in height and stature. It looked exactly like a Dalek in every detail, though fifty times bigger, its eyestalk seemingly watching the preparations commence, spreading dread to every living thing that lay eyes on it... And it seemed this was where they were headed._

_''Hey, hello?'' she called in a shaky voice. ''Where am I? Where are you taking me?''_

_Suddenly a blue eyestalk turned and covered the hole, looking straight at her. The action deprived the inside of sunlight, letting the energy radiating off her hands bathe the crate in golden light. ''You are on the planet of the Daleks,'' it said in a high-pitched voice, ''the mighty Skaro!''_

_She gasped and fell back in the corner of the crate furthest from it. She had heard tales about this place, and none of them good. To actually be on the planet of the most malevolent race of all shook her to the very core._

_It followed her with its ''gaze''. ''The creator requested an audience with you!'' it continued and left the hole, letting natural light stream back inside._

_As they entered the bottom of the gigantic Dalek, her tears for once stopped. She was only sure of one thing: if she ever came back out, she wouldn't come out the same._

**...oOo...**

''Alexandra!''

Alexandra shook her head and looked at the Doctor, who was already at the entrance of the balcony, looking at her in concern. She had been frozen on the same spot she had been sitting since the Doctor told her the name of the planet.

At once, she grabbed her cloak off the ground and followed suit behind him as he ran backstage.

Something had happened on stage that they hadn't noticed, seeing that when they finally arrived, chorus girls were flocked in the middle of the corridor in an assortment of feathers and sequins, scared half to death. The moment Alexandra laid eyes on them, she bolted to the props room to check on the sewer lid.

The Doctor, meanwhile, ran up to Tallulah and grabbed her by the shoulders. ''Where is she? Where's Martha?'' he asked her.

''I don't know, she ran off the stage,'' she replied.

The two screams came moments later.

He practically flew down the corridor to the source of the sound, which of course was the props room. ''Alexandra?! Martha?!'' he shouted as he ran inside, hoping for a reply, but none came. He searched frantically around with his gaze, but instead of the girls, he caught a black sheet on the floor near the back. With near shaking hands, he raised the velvet sheet to the light, only for his suspicions to be confirmed.

It was Alexandra's cloak.

Behind the shelves near it, the sewer lid lay askew.

_No_, he thought, taking his coat and putting it on determinedly. They had torn Rose out of his grasp. They couldn't have Alexandra, as well. _He_ wouldn't let them.

''Oh, where are you goin'?'' Without knowing, Tallulah had followed him into the room.

''They've taken them,'' he said, pushing the lid aside.

''Who's taken them?'' she asked but he ignored her, grabbing the cloak and starting to climb down the ladder. ''What're y' doin'? I said, what the hell are ya doin'?''

The Doctor landed lightly on his feet in the dark sewers and took out a flashlight from his coat. His chest fell when he didn't see anything to indicate in which direction they had gone, but he couldn't have expected to find anything. The pig men left no bodies, and the only thing he would probably come across were more of those Dalek products.

When he heard feet on the ladder, he turned around to see Tallulah, now in a dark blue velvet robe over her costume, climbing down to join him. ''No, no, no, no way. You're not coming!'' he protested.

''Tell me what's going on,'' Tallulah said, stopping mid-climb.

''There's nothing you can do. Go back!''

''Look, whoever's taken your women, they could've taken Lazlo, couldn't they?'' she asked as she climbed down the rest of the way.

''Tallulah, you're not safe down here,'' he told her slowly, trying to make her understand. He didn't want to be responsible if something happened to her while he was too focused trying to find Alexandra and Martha.

''Then _that's my problem._'' She wrapped her coat closer to herself. ''Come on. Which way?'' she asked and walked down a tunnel to the left.

The Doctor sighed, his grip on Alexandra's cloak tightening. Well, if he couldn't convince her to leave... ''This way,'' he said, walking forward, and Tallulah came from around the other tunnel to follow.

~\8/~

''No! Let me go!'' Martha cried as two pig men pulled her along, Alexandra sharing the same fate behind her. It was hard to struggle against someone who had an iron grip on your arms when you couldn't dig your feet in solid ground properly. Who would have thought men spliced with pig DNA would be this strong?

''This is 1930, how can your fusion be this stable? Jeez!'' Alexandra exclaimed, giving another hard tug to get away, but with no results. ''You would have thought you'd have one disadvantage!''

''If you find it, I'd be glad for the information,'' the human commented.

Their captors shoved them hard against a wall, Martha almost twisting her hand in the process. One of them went to stand right in her face, giving a few oinks that could have been an attempt to reprimand her for talking, and the human closed her eyes tightly.

Alexandra settled against the wall with a scoff. ''You're awfully rude for kidnappers. I've met more polite ones than you!''

''What, kidnappers?'' Martha asked incredulously.

''Long story...'' The Time Lady was more focused on the influx of people in their tunnel than giving a proper answer. They were being led by another pig man and were all set in one straight line, but once she spotted one particular young man among them, it was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

''Alex! Martha!'' none other than Frank said when he lay his eyes on them.

''Oh my world, you're alive!'' she breathed in relief before she pulled him in a tight hug, one he returned just as enthusiastically. When he let go, she cupped his face in her hands to make him look her in the eyes. ''What have I told you about staying behind, huh? How many times have I said not to fall behind?''

''I'm sorry, I thought I could buy you some time!''

''Don't ever do that again, do you hear me?'' she said, though she couldn't help the small smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth.

Frank mirrored it moments later. ''I won't.''

When she let him go, he was assaulted by Martha's bone crashing hug. ''I thought we'd lost you!'' she told him as he hugged her back.

One pig man didn't seem satisfied with their small reunion, for he shoved them forward forcefully. ''Alright!'' Martha shouted at it. ''Alright, we're moving.'' She turned to look forward, though she didn't let go of Frank and Alexandra's hands for a second. She had to make sure they were there, that she wasn't alone in these dark tunnels, surrounded only by strangers.

''Where are they taking us?'' the boy asked.

''We don't know, Frank,'' Alexandra replied, studying the pig men. ''But on the bright side, it's a very good opportunity to find out what it is they're after.''

However much that kept her going, she didn't like to entertain the idea that Daleks where behind this. For some reason, she imagined their next meeting wouldn't go as well as the last one... even if she couldn't recollect exactly how she had survived.

~\8/~

The Doctor and Tallulah walked under a half open gate as they looked around the sewers for any sign of the pig men or the girls... or, rather, the Doctor was looking; Tallulah had to follow him for the most part, and was trying to make idle –or not so idle- conversation along the way.

The operative word being ''trying''.

''When you say 'they've taken them','' she gave it a jab yet again, ''who's they exactly? And who are you anyway? I never asked.''

''Shh,'' the Doctor shushed her. He thought he heard something ahead, but he couldn't be sure.

''Okay, okay!''

''Shh, shh, shh!''

In the weak light of the tunnel, he could see a _very _familiar shadow coming towards them.

''I mean you're handsome and all-'' Tallulah's rant was cut short when the Doctor grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth with his hand, pulling her back with him in a recess in the wall of the tunnel. The girl tried breaking free, but she stopped as soon as she saw what made him grab her in the first place.

A lone Dalek glided right past the hole they were in, not seeing them at all, making both their blood run cold. The woman's eyes widened at the sight, while the Doctor froze on the spot, his gaze following the alien until he couldn't see it from his position.

Tallulah pulled his hand off her mouth as soon it went past and he let her to come out of their hiding spot. ''No, no, no, no, no, no, no,'' he mumbled as he studied the back of the retreating Dalek, watching it as it got further away from him... So it was true. The Daleks were here, and with them came all the anger he had bottled up inside him ever since Canary Wharf. ''They survive. They always survive while I lose everything.''

It couldn't be real. No, it couldn't be. Not when he had found another Time Lord, not when he had just settled in to the idea that he wasn't alone, not when he had thought that he could get his happiness back... And now they had kidnapped Alexandra. He wouldn't let them take her away as well, he wouldn't. He would rather rain fire on all of Manhattan than lose her to the one species that kept destroying everything he held dear. He would never stand giving them another reason to hurt him...

And he would never forgive himself if something happened to Alexandra.

''That metal thing?'' Tallulah asked. ''What was it?''

He took his time to answer as calmly as he could, even if it wasn't entirely possible at the moment. ''It's called a Dalek. And it's not just metal, it's alive.''

''You're kidding me,'' she laughed.

''Do I look like I'm kidding?!'' he nearly shouted as he turned to look at her and the fury in his eyes did wonders to sober her up. Silently, he returned his gaze to the corner around which the Dalek had disappeared. ''Inside that shell is a creature born to hate, whose only thought is to destroy everything and everyone that isn't a Dalek too. It won't stop until it's killed every human being alive.''

''But if it's not a human being,'' she started, ''that kinda implies it's from outer space.'' He just looked at her without saying a word. ''Yet again, that's a 'no' with the kidding. Boy… Well, what's it doin' here, in New York?''

He didn't know how to answer her, but he knew one thing: whatever the reason, it wasn't for good.

~\8/~

The pig men had gathered the prisoners in one section of the sewers, guarding them so that they wouldn't escape. Alexandra, Martha and Frank tried their best to stay close to each other, and the Time Lady was guilty of standing before them to cover them from the creatures more than once.

''What are they keeping us here for?'' Frank wondered.

''I don't know,'' Martha replied. ''I've got a nasty feeling that we're being kept in the larder.''

Alexandra stared up and down the tunnel. ''I think we might be a little more important than food at this point.''

Out of nowhere the pig men started squealing nervously and shifting, bringing the group closer together.

''What're they doing?'' Frank asked. ''What's wrong? What's wrong?''

''Silence! Silence!''

She would never in all her lives forget that mechanical voice. Her hearts stopped at the sight of the Dalek that glided in the tunnel and she gasped, turning on her heel to run but falling on a pig man instead, who kept her in place even if she struggled.

''What the hell is that?'' Martha asked in shock and looked over her shoulder to Alexandra for answers, only to see her thrust against a pig man as he turned her back around to face the Dalek... and she was shocked to see pure unadulterated terror on her face.

She swallowed hard as she went to her side. ''How bad is it?'' Martha asked her quietly.

The Time Lady simply shook her head. She shrugged the pig man's hand off and grabbed Martha's in her own, taking Frank's in her free one as well. She had to remain calm in front of the impending danger. How else was she supposed to keep her ability at bay? If she displaced now, she would leave the two of them at the Daleks' utter mercy.

''You will form a line,'' the Dalek ordered. ''Move.''

The pig men started pushing everyone into a line forcefully and the humans struggled against them.

Alexandra sprung forward. ''Just do what it says!'' she said, pushing them back. ''Don't resist, just obey.''

''The female is wise,'' the Dalek glided in front of her, focusing its eyestalk on her face. ''Obey!''

She gulped. ''Obey…'' she mumbled to herself, a slight numbness forming between her eyes.

Martha guessed she didn't want to know why the big metal alien had reduced her to such a shaking mess, but all she could do now was give the girl's hand a soft squeeze.

''Report.'' A second Dalek came into the tunnel and Alexandra felt all blood leave her face. How many were there?!

''These are strong specimens,'' the first replied. ''They will help the Dalek cause.''

Martha frowned and looked at Alexandra. ''Dalek?'' she mumbled.

The Time Lady shut her eyes tightly and nodded.

The Doctor had told her about the race that had gone to war with the Time Lords at the cost of both species dying and their planet being destroyed. But she had never thought that she would ever meet one in person, and if Alexandra's reaction was anything to go by, she now wished she hadn't. She looked like she had seen her worst nightmare come to life.

''What is the status of the Final Experiment?'' the first Dalek inquired.

''The Dalekanium is in place. The energy conductor is now complete.''

''Then I will extract prisoners for selection.'' It rolled to face the prisoners and a pig man brought an older black man forward. The Dalek extended his sucker to a few centimetres in front of the man's face while the rest of them watched. ''Intelligence scan. Initiate. Reading brain waves.'' After a brief moment, it rolled back. ''Low intelligence.''

The man frowned. ''You callin' me stupid?''

''Silence!'' the Dalek ordered. ''This one will become a pig slave. Next.''

Two pig men grabbed him by the arms and took him away. ''No, let go of me!'' the man shouted. ''I'm not becoming one of them!''

The alien completely ignored him and moved over to the next one. ''Intelligence scan. Initiate…''

Alexandra looked at the Dalek as it made its way down the line, coming closer and closer to her. What if it detected that she was a Time Lady? Surely these Daleks weren't the same ones that raided Karn all those years ago, and she had regenerated since then anyway, but one slip in the scan and it would detect her double heartbeat in no time. Not to mention that her intelligence was superior to everyone's in the group. Surely that would strike the Dalek as odd. What would happen then? What would they do with her?

She had to remind herself, though, that Daleks had no concept of imagination. And even if the Cult of Skaro was entitled to imagine, Dalek Caan wouldn't think much of it amidst their new plan…

Dalek Caan? Where had that come from? A minute ago she didn't know Daleks had names, and now she knew both its name and the group it was in?!

But yes… The one conducting the scans was Dalek Caan. The one at the entrance was Dalek Thay. They belonged in the Cult of Skaro, and if that was anything to go by, the rest of the Cult, Dalek Jast and Dalek Sec, should be close by. Those four went everywhere together, imagined and thought like their enemies to defeat them and they were inseparable. But how had she known that? She was only sure it had nothing to do with her identifying, which, as she had discovered, had been a by-product of her abilities. But to be able to name items and people on sight, she had to have not used her ability over a long time, which was not the case now... Her thoughts were too foggy for her to form even a complete sentence in her mind.

After declaring Frank had superior intelligence, it moved on to Martha. The pig slaves pushed her forward and her hand slipped from Alexandra's, but when the girl tried to take it back, another pig man held her by the shoulder. ''Intelligence scan. Initiate.'' The girl's eyes widened as the sucker came closer to her face, but it moved away almost immediately. ''Superior intelligence. This one will become part of the Final Experiment.''

''You can't just experiment on people!'' she shouted in its eyestalk. ''It's insane! It's _inhuman!_''

''We are not human,'' Caan simply replied and moved over to Alexandra. Two pig slaves grabbed either of her arms and held her in place as the Dalek positioned its sucker close to her face. Her hearts were beating so fast in her chest it took some effort to make them beat one at a time (another trick she had taught herself to do). Who knew what those suckers could detect. ''Intelligence scan. Initiate.'' The sucker twisted left and right, but the Dalek took a while to reveal the results.

_That's it, I'm dying,_ she thought to herself.

''Alert!'' the Dalek said and her eyes widened. ''Signal interfering with intelligence scan! Results inconclusive!''

Alexandra's brow furrowed. ''What signal? What are you talking about?''

''Silence!'' it commanded, its sucker retracted. ''This specimen will be taken for further analysis!''

The Time Lady grabbed Martha's hand again as soon as she was close and both held on for dear life. ''Are you okay?'' the human asked.

''Don't know if I should be,'' she mumbled back.

''Prisoners of high intelligence will be taken to the transgenic laboratory,'' Dalek Caan declared and the two Daleks filed out of the tunnel. The pig slaves pushed the prisoners in a straight line behind them and they all marched off, the small trio one behind the other.

''You think the Doctor's looking for us?'' Martha asked quietly, bringing her jacket a little closer to herself.

''I think he's really worried,'' she offered. ''I just hope he doesn't do anything rash.''

They had just turned a corner when a much more imposing shape took up the space Martha had occupied behind her. ''Keep walking,'' the Doctor said quietly as he started walking behind her and she bit back a joyous laugh.

Martha gasped. ''I'm so glad to see you!'' she said, not breaking from her walk.

''Yeah, well, you can kiss me later. You two too, if you want,'' he said just loud enough so that it would reach Frank, who was walking behind Martha.

''What are you doing?'' Alexandra hissed with a look towards the Daleks' direction.

''Making it up as I go along.''

''When don't you?''

A light weight fell on her shoulders and she raised her hand to feel the sensation of velvet on her fingers. ''You dropped this,'' the Doctor said quietly.

Her frantic heartbeat slowed at the sensation of her cloak enveloping her and she fastened it around her neck again. But even with that and the Doctor walking right behind her, her stomach just wouldn't stop turning.

For once, the words ''transgenic laboratory'' didn't excite her.

~\8/~

When he calculated they were heading right underneath the Empire State Building, the Doctor hadn't expected to find a fully equipped, fully functioning and more than cutting edge for its decade lab in the basement. But there it was, massive in its own right with a very high and darkened ceiling, and the remaining two Daleks of the Cult of Skaro expecting the prisoners that were now walking in at the end of the room, in front of a control hub that occupied the middle of the back wall.

Though, something was very wrong. The black one, Dalek Sec, was shaking, smoke coming thick and fast out of the grilling at the base of his dome.

The moment Alexandra spotted the remaining Daleks her hand grabbed the Doctor's without warning, and he tightened his grip instantly.

The two Daleks escorting them left them to the pig slaves. ''Report,'' Caan said as he made his way to the back.

''Dalek Sec is in the final stage of evolution,'' Jast replied.

The Time Lady stifled a gasp. He sounded just like the Dalek from her memory...

''Scan him,'' Caan commanded. ''Prepare for birth.''

''Evolution?'' the Doctor wondered quietly.

''What's wrong with old Charlie boy over there?'' Martha asked.

''Ask them,'' he suggested.

She gasped. ''What, me? Don't be daft.''

''We don't exactly want to get more noticed. Ask them what's going on!''

Martha hesitated for a moment before stepping out of the line. ''Daleks, I demand to be told. What is this... Final Experiment?'' He voice shook slightly when Caan came closer, but she wasn't about to screw this up. ''Report!'' she ordered when the Daleks didn't reply right away.

''You will bear witness,'' Caan said.

''To what?''

''This is the dawn of a new age.''

Martha stole a quick glance at the Time Lords, who were looking at the Dalek thoughtfully, Alexandra with a somewhat pained expression, before turning her attention back to it again. ''What does that _mean?_''

''We are the only four Daleks in existence, so the species must evolve. A life outside the shell, in the footsteps of the Dalek Regnant. The Children of Skaro must walk again!'' And with that, he turned his attention to the failing Sec.

Alexandra gripped the side of her head, the headache at the back of her head growing too painful. _Dalek Regnant._ She knew that phrase. She had heard it before but... she couldn't remember where.

''Alexandra?'' the Doctor asked her in concern.

''It's my head...'' she managed to get out. She tried to lean against him, but she didn't take into account the weakness of her legs and would have slid to the floor had he not caught her in time. The world around her was somewhat foggy, but she thought she saw Martha coming to help the Doctor hold her upright.

The black shape at the edge of her vision that was Sec slowly stopped shaking and his eyestalk powered down. At once, his casing opened, and to the Time Lord's horror a figure was crouched inside, wearing what were unmistakably Diagoras' clothes. It unsteadily pushed itself out, its hands like claws, and it stood upright in the middle of the room. The rest of the Daleks rolled back.

''What is it?!'' Martha hissed in apprehension.

This new creature had brown withered skin, taut against the bones and muscles of its body, with a head resembling a Dalek's real form, three short thick tentacles lining each cheekbone and directly connected to the flesh around its abnormally large brain, which was exposed at the top for all of them to see. One single eye lay in the middle of its forehead. It stretched its hands backwards, throwing its head back, before opening its mouth.

''I... am... a human Dalek!'' it said slowly, as if testing how to use it, and the Time Lords' eyes widened in disbelief. ''I... am your future!''


	8. The Daleks Put The Devil In Me

A/N: Hello, everyone! This was meant to be up earlier, but we're still working on figuring out the new updating schedule, so you're having this today! The initial plan was to have two chapters/week during two-parters, one on Wednesdays and one on Saturdays, but, as both me and my beta are settling in to the new rhythm, it will take some time to adjust. Next week should be smoother, but in getting this update, Saturday's official update is pushed back to whenever the next chapter is ready for publishing, so consider yourselves warned.

I am quite proud of this chapter for various reasons so I'm very excited to be posting it!

Special thanks to my beta, InTheTARDISJustAsItShouldBe!

* * *

Alexandra raised herself slightly in the Doctor's embrace. ''You still have the radio?'' she mumbled and he gave her a curt nod.

The hybrid Dalek Sec pointed at the prisoners. ''These… humans will become like me," he said just as slowly as before. The Doctor carefully shifted Alexandra's weight onto Martha and slipped away. "Prepare them for hybridisation."

The pig slaves closed in on the group of humans and pulled them forward, two grabbing Martha and Alexandra and pulling them apart. ''Leave me alone! Don't you dare!'' the human shouted...

Until they all paused when ''Happy Days Are Here Again'' started playing.

At the sound of the music, Alexandra felt the vice grip of the headache loosen and she shook her head to get the unpleasant feeling away. What had just happened? What was up with her today?

''What is that sound?'' Dalek Sec demanded.

The Doctor popped his head out from behind the machinery closest to the Daleks. ''Ah, now... Well, that would be me. Hello,'' he said as he set the small red radio Solomon had given him down on a table and went to stand out in the open. ''Surprise! Boo! Et cetera...''

''Doctor,'' Sec narrowed his one eye in recognition.

''The enemy of the Daleks!'' Caan said.

''Exterminate!'' Jast exclaimed.

''Wait!'' Sec cried, throwing his arms out to stop them.

The Doctor took special notice of his reaction as he studied Sec carefully. ''Well, then, a new form of Dalek,'' he said, walking up to him. ''Fascinating... and very clever.''

''The Cult of Skaro escaped your slaughter!''

''What a shame.''

At the sound of her voice, all eyes turned on Alexandra, who was sitting up straighter in the pig slave's grip. The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her actions. ''You should have been trapped in the Void with the rest of them.'' The contempt which laced her voice could crack their bones.

''The human will be silent!'' Thay commanded.

She made a show of looking behind her shoulder and then back at them. ''What, me? Oh, I'm not human, _dear_. Haven't been for a while now.''

''Alexandra,'' the Doctor said, a warning in his voice, ''don't.''

She only spared him one single glance before raising her chin a bit higher. ''I'm a Time Lady of Gallifrey.''

All three Daleks rolled back almost immediately. ''Another Time Lord survived!'' Caan cried.

''You got to survive. Why not us?'' With a forceful pull, she shook the pig man off her and straightened her cloak over her shoulders. ''My name is Alexandra... and I'm with him,'' she nodded to the Doctor, whose glare was directed straight at her.

Jast rolled closer to her and she took an instinctive step back, the confidence she had gathered nearly snuffed out in a single movement, but the Dalek merely extended its sucker to her chest, retracting it almost immediately. ''Scanners detecting double heartbeat!''

''She's done nothing wrong, leave her be,'' the Doctor said in an even voice, though anyone could detect the hidden warning underneath.

She swallowed hard and took a step around Thay. ''What _I_ would like to know,'' she started, coming to stand by the Doctor's side and letting her hand brush his, needing some reassurance, ''is how you managed to jump from 2007 to 1930.''

''You know what, I would like to know, too,'' the Time Lord agreed, eyes never leaving Sec.

His single eye narrowed in animosity. ''Emergency Temporal Shift.''

The Doctor scoffed. ''Oh, that must have roasted up your power cells, yeah?'' He strode nonchalantly a few paces away, leaving Alexandra's close to shaking side to look around the lab while rubbing at his earlobe thoughtfully. ''Time was, four Daleks could have conquered the world. But instead you're skulking away... hidden in the dark... _experimenting._''

''The result of which being you,'' Alexandra finished for him, nodding at Sec. ''Very impressive for the time period and your resources, I have to say.''

''I am Dalek in human form!''

''But what does it _feel_ like?'' the Doctor asked, returning to stand right in front of the hybrid. ''You can talk to me, Dalek Sec. It is Dalek Sec, isn't it? That's your name.''

''Yes, it is,'' the Time Lady agreed, earning a side glance from him. ''He's got a name and a mind of his own, like the lot in here,'' she pointed at the three Daleks surrounding him. ''But what are you thinking right now, Sec?''

''I… feel… humanity,'' Sec said slowly, turning his back to them.

The Doctor nodded encouragingly. ''Good... That's good.''

''I… feel… everything we wanted from mankind.'' His shoulders straightened and he turned to face them again, newfound glee (if it could be called that) shining in his eye. ''Which is... ambition, hatred, aggression and war. Such… a genius for war!'' The way he uttered those words, with such enthusiasm, made a chill run down Alexandra's spine.

''No,'' the Doctor disagreed with a shake of his head, ''that's not what humanity means.''

''I think it does!'' Sec countered. ''At heart, this species is so very… Dalek.''

The Doctor would have punched a wall at the insinuation, so he walked off angrily instead. ''Alright, so what have you achieved, then? With this Final Experiment, eh? _Nothing!_ 'Cause I can show you what you're missing with this thing,'' he pointed at the small radio he had left on a table, giving it a small pat. ''Simple little radio.''

''What is the purpose of that device?'' Jast asked.

Alexandra rolled her eyes. ''It fries eggs - what do you think it does?! It plays music, of course! But I suppose not even Daleks with imagination can appreciate the importance of music.''

A small smile appeared on the Doctor's lips as he took her hand in his. ''Oh, with music, you can... dance to it,'' he twirled her on the spot, earning the ghost of a smile, ''sing with it...'' He looked straight into Caan's eyestalk. ''...fall in love to it. Unless you're a Dalek of course. Then it's all just _noise!_'' In a motion so quick she almost missed it, he took out his sonic screwdriver and aimed it at the radio, and a high pitched wail escaped from it. Dalek Sec cried in pain, gripping his head with his hands, while the Daleks around him twitched erratically.

''Run! Go!'' Alexandra shouted back at the prisoners. They wasted no time obeying her command, turning the way they had come and sprinting into the sewers, Martha in the lead, while the Time Lords followed behind them, the Doctor pulling Alexandra along by the hand.

''You didn't tell me the identifying returned!'' he shouted as they ran.

''It didn't!'' she shouted back. He cast her a curious glance, but he couldn't ask more.

At one point Martha stopped, unsure of which way to run and inadvertently halted the whole group. ''Come on! Move, move, move, move, move!'' the Doctor rushed past her without second thought, taking a left, having memorized the layout from before.

Halfway down the tunnel, the group happened upon Tallulah, looking lost and more than scared. Alexandra grabbed her by the hand to pull her along. ''Come on, Tallulah! Run!''

The show girl looked at the group in bewilderment. ''What's happened to Lazlo?!'' she asked frantically as she was carried away by the humans trying to outrun their pursuers.

Before long, the small group had reached a random ladder the Doctor had come across on his search. It didn't lead to the theatre, but it would offer the quickest way out. ''C'mon! Everyone up!'' he motioned upwards, ready to help push Alexandra up, but she instead broke away and helped the humans first.

''You've got to climb up!'' he said, offering his hand.

''Not until everyone is safe! I'm not having another Frank today!'' she protested, guiding Martha up the ladder.

''I'm not letting you stay last, do you hear me?!''

''Like you would let me if I tried.''

''It's not an easy job when you keep disregarding what I say!''

''If you're talking about the Daleks, sorry, okay? I couldn't just stand there letting you face them on your own!''

''And you thought telling them you're a Time Lord changed anything?''

''Last I recall, I told them I was a Time Lady.''

''Look, did I seem bothered dealing with them on my own?''

''But _I_ was bothered! You want me to come with you but you won't let me share the responsibility!''

He tried hard not to groan. ''We don't have time for this! You have to go up!''

''Not unless I want to.''

''Stop acting like an angsty teenager and get on with it!''

Her jaw dropped to the floor. ''Angsty teenager?!''

''Doctor!''

Both their heads shot up to see Martha at the opening above them, beckoning them up. In their antics at each other, they hadn't noticed that everyone had climbed up and they were the only ones still in the sewers.

He wasted no time grabbing her by the arm and pushing her up the ladder, Alexandra not having time to protest. ''I'm 201, mister, I'm hardly a teenager!'' she called down as she made her way upwards.

''Well, just about,'' the Doctor sighed, grabbing a metal step and climbing out of the sewers just in time to avoid the pig men and Daleks chasing them.

~\8/~

How the small group had even reached Hooverville in the first place was a mystery, but there they were, having almost been shot down by the sentries Solomon had positioned at the perimeter on arrival, standing near the fire to make a plan… which proved rather difficult, seeing that the leader of the town had taken arms already, a riffle propped against his shoulder. When Alexandra had asked him to protect the town she didn't have something specific in mind, but she really shouldn't have expected anything else.

''These Daleks,'' Solomon was saying, ''they sound like the stuff of nightmares. And they wanna _breed?_''

''They're splicing themselves into human bodies,'' the Doctor explained, his arms crossed across his chest. Martha, Tallulah and Frank had seated themselves on crates around the fire to listen to the conversation. ''If I'm right, they've got a farm of breeding stock right here in Hooverville.''

''We can't stay here,'' Alexandra said to the man, ''they might make a move to take people by force. We've got to get everyone out as soon as possible.''

''Hooverville's the lowest place a man can fall,'' Solomon protested. ''There's nowhere else to go! Or have you forgotten that now that you're leavin'?''

''You're leavin'?'' Frank asked incredulously.

She wanted to rip her hair out in annoyance. How could he bring that up at a time like this?! ''This isn't about me! This is about the people that have treated me like part of their family for the past year! There aren't a lot of options here, I know that, and I'm _sorry_, but you can't stay here. Go anywhere _but_ Manhattan, move down the railroads, travel across state; just get out of New York!''

''There's got to be a way to reason with these things,'' the man tried.

Martha scoffed. ''There's not a chance.''

''You ain't seen 'em, boss,'' Frank agreed, standing up.

''Solomon, I beg you,'' Alexandra said, laying a hand on his arm, ''don't let all those people die. I couldn't stand losing another family to the Daleks, not again.''

Solomon stared down at her hand a moment before looking in her eyes. ''Are they really as bad as you say?''

Alexandra didn't reply. Every time she blinked ever since she laid eyes on the Cult of Skaro, she could see another one of her Sisters falling to the ground, eyes wide open, and she felt like someone was stepping on her throat, cutting off her air supply. Her hand dropped weakly from his coat and she turned away, seeking the Doctor's hand, which he offered with no hesitation, giving her all the comfort he could by rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. ''Daleks are bad enough at anytime,'' he told Solomon, ''but right now they're _vulnerable._ And that makes them more dangerous than ever.''

Suddenly the sound of a whistle tore the air. ''They're coming! They're coming!'' a voice cried in the night.

''A sentry,'' Solomon guessed, readying his rifle. ''Must have seen something.''

The sentry came through the crowd of panicking residents. ''They're here! I seen 'em! Monsters! They're monsters!'' he shouted.

Alexandra's whole body stiffened, her eyes wide. The Doctor put a hand around her waist to bring her closer. ''It's started,'' he mumbled bitterly.

''We're under attack!'' Solomon shouted. ''Everyone to arms!''

Frank came to the group with a rifle in his hands while some men opened a shed with weapons inside, handing out everything they had gathered. ''I'm ready, boss, but all o' you! Find a weapon! Use anything!''

In their utter panic, some people tried to run off, ignoring Solomon's cries for them to gather towards the fire. ''Come back!'' he was yelling. ''We gotta stick together! It's not safe out there! Come back!''

It was no use; whoever tried to escape the town got captured by pig men, who had reached the outskirts and where gathering up whichever unfortunate soul came in their way. Meanwhile, the people who had managed to find a weapon had gathered in a tight circle around the fire, protecting those who were yet unarmed. Even Martha decided she wouldn't go down without a fight: she had found a large branch to defend herself with should the need arise, staying next to the terrified Tallulah at all times. Alexandra had been pushed to the middle of the circle with the Doctor, clenching and unclenching her left fist nervously whenever a pig man came in her line of sight. Her other hand was occupied with a fistful of fabric from the Doctor's coat, not letting him step away from her. Not that he was going to, anyway.

''We need to get out of the park,'' Martha told the Doctor, who was looking back and forth studying all lines of approach out of and towards Hooverville from where they were standing.

''We can't!'' he said. ''They're on all sides. They're driving people back towards us.''

''We're trapped!'' Tallulah realised.

''Then we stand together!'' Solomon called. ''Gather 'round! Everybody come to me! You there, Jethro, Harry, Seamus, stay together!''

Any person who was still alive came running to the circle of men, seeking protection with the armed masses. ''They can't take all of us,'' Solomon said determinedly and then fired at the pig men approaching, and anyone who had a gun did the same, taking down as many as they could... but everyone knew it wasn't going to be enough.

''If we can just hold them off till daylight,'' Martha was saying, jumping whenever a shot was fired.

But the Time Lords were not looking around them anymore. Both their gazes had travelled skywards, the Doctor's eyes losing their usual glint at the sight. ''Oh, Martha,'' he mumbled solemnly, ''they're just the foot soldiers.''

Everyone's gaze followed where he was looking and their eyes widened in shock at the peculiar shape in the sky that was flying towards them. Alexandra's hand found the Doctor's and he gripped it tightly.

''Oh, my God,'' Martha breathed.

For, in the sky, heading right towards them, was a Dalek.

''What in this world-?'' Solomon asked.

''It's the devil,'' the sentry said, shaking with fear. ''A devil in the sky. God save us all. It's damnation!''

''Oh yeah? We'll see about that!'' Frank said and fired at the Dalek, only for the bullet to bounce harmlessly against its metal casing.

Alexandra rushed forward and pushed the barrel of the shotgun down. ''That's not gonna work!''

''There's more than one of them,'' Martha whispered to the Doctor, eyes never leaving the levitating Dalek as another one came into view next to the first.

He didn't know what he liked less: the Daleks taking action and destroying everything in their path or only the two of them just levitating there, looking down at the inhabitants of Hooverville without doing a thing. The way the humans were gathered right now, almost all of them in one tight group, was strategically convenient for the Daleks: a few quick blasts and they would all be lying dead on the ground. But how would they benefit from that? That would have been the easy way through, so why were they assessing the situation from above?

As if prompted by a silent command, the Daleks opened fire.

But they were firing at anywhere _but_ the group. People screamed as explosions went off and fires erupted all across the town, and those who hadn't yet made it to the armed crowd died by blasts and shrapnel. The people gathered around the fire could only duck whenever a blast was fired and watch as those unprotected met a horrible fate at the hands of the ''devils in the sky''.

''The humans will surrender!'' one of the Daleks cried.

''Leave them alone! They've done nothing to you!'' the Doctor shouted, stepping just slightly apart from the group.

The Daleks stilled at once.

In the eerie silence that followed, he spotted Solomon out of the corner of his eye taking a few steps away from the crowd, his rifle held tightly in his hands. ''No, Solomon! Stay back!'' he shouted, grabbing his arms.

''I'm told that I'm addressin' the Daleks, is that right?'' the man nonetheless addressed the aliens in the sky, his voice slightly wavering. ''From what I hear, you're outcasts, too!''

''Solomon, _don't,_'' Alexandra warned him from the head of the group.

''Alexandra, this is _my_ township, you will both respect _my _authority,'' he said in a firm voice, looking back at her. There was a pleading look in her eyes, but he wouldn't back down now. ''Just let me try,'' he looked between them, putting a hand on the Doctor's chest and pushing him away.

Even though he was more than reluctant, the Doctor stepped back, shaking his head at the man before him.

Alexandra could only watch as Solomon raised his hands in surrender. ''Daleks…'' he called up to them, ''ain't we all the same? Underneath, ain't we all kin?'' When there was no response, Solomon set his rifle slowly to the ground, never breaking eye contact with the aliens above him. '''Cause, see, I've just discovered, _this past day_, God's universe is a thousand times the size I thought it was. And that scares me. Oh, yeah. Terrifies me! Right down to the bone! But, sure, it's got to give me hope… Hope that maybe together we can make a better tomorrow. So I… I beg you now if you have any compassion in your hearts, then you'll meet with us and stop this fight! Well… what do you say?''

Both Time lords studied the Daleks floating in silence, waiting with bated breath for their reply. And even if they should have expected it, the command the Dalek gave made their blood run cold.

''Exterminate!''

The blast hit Solomon straight in the chest and the man yelled in pain when it found home, falling to his knees before, finally, dropping on his stomach where he stayed, motionless.

Alexandra stared at his corpse among the screams of terror from the people around her, her hand finding its way shakily over her mouth, eyes wide. In her vision, she could only see red. This couldn't be happening, not again.

''Oh, no!'' Frank screamed, dashing to the man's side and falling to his knees next to him. ''No! Solomon!''

''They killed him!'' Martha almost whimpered, looking up at the aliens in the sky with newfound hatred. ''They just shot him on the spot!''

The Doctor stared down at the body of the unfortunate man, at how Frank was leaning over him in mourning, and his anger reached boiling point inside him. ''Daleks!'' he growled, letting all the venom he could muster lace his voice. He walked forward with new purpose in his stride, throwing his hands to his sides and turning his enraged gaze towards the Daleks. ''Alright, so it's my turn! Then kill me! Kill me if it'll stop you attacking these people!''

He was just so... tired. Tired of people leaving him alone. Tired of destroying everything he touched. Tired of losing everyone he held close to his hearts. Tired of the Daleks always finding a way to rip everything he held dear out of his grasp in the cruellest way possible...

Alexandra stilled, eyes trained on her fellow Time Lord in shock.

''I will be the destroyer of our greatest enemy!'' the Dalek said, the barest hint of glee in its otherwise mechanical voice.

''Then do it! Do it!'' he screamed, beating his fists against in chest. ''Just do it! Do it!''

''NO!'' Alexandra cried, hearing the blood pump in her ears as she made to run to him, but hands on her shoulders held her back - Martha's hands, she realized, but she had no time to pay attention to the human, or the heat of her hands as she shook herself out of Martha's grip and ran to the Doctor, fear fuelling every step towards him, the need to keep him safe... ''NO, DON'T!''

He barely had time to turn around as her voice broke through his rage and touched something in him, and time seemed to grow still around them: she came to stand right in front of him, putting her back against his chest to shield him from the blast and her hands on his arms to keep him from trying to shake her off. He was in such a state of shock at her actions that he almost missed the glow of her hands against the brown of his coat, like a light source was trapped underneath her skin, spreading from the crook of her elbow right down to her fingertips...

''Extermin-'' The Dalek stopped mid-cry as if someone unseen had ordered it to stop, and the Time Lord had time to wrap his arms around Alexandra's waist, making sure to trap the glowing part of her arms underneath his to keep the Daleks from spotting it.

''I do not understand. It is the Doctor!'' The Dalek seemed to be having a conversation they could only hear one side of. ''The urge to kill is too strong!''

''What's it doing?'' Alexandra whispered.

The Doctor was watching the partial conversation unfold intently. ''Dunno. Hate not knowing…''

''I…obey,'' Caan said finally, obviously reluctant.

''What's going on?'' the Time Lord demanded.

The Dalek didn't reply right away, probably receiving instructions. ''The Doctor will follow.''

''No!''

The cry came from Martha, who ran out of the crowd to stand behind them. ''You can't go.''

''She's right,'' Alexandra said, stepping out of his grip to face him, ''you can't. It might be a trap.'' Her eyes felt like they were burning holes in his skull from the insistence they held within.

''I've got to go,'' he insisted, looking between the two. ''The Daleks just changed their minds. Daleks _never_ change their minds.''

''That's why it might be a trap. You can't know what they want!''

His hands travelled to her shoulders to adjust the cloak over her, a seemingly reassuring gesture had it not been to hide her now faintly glowing hands from view, as well. ''I won't know unless I go, though.''

''But what about us?'' Martha asked in a broken whisper, gesturing back at Hooverville's residents.

He looked back at them, only to see the confused and terrified expressions on their faces, enough to make him feel torn. What was going to happen if he left them to fend off subsequent attacks by themselves?

A hand came to rest on his arm and his eyes turned once again to Alexandra. Her jaw was clenched and her fingers were stiff against his coat, but she gave him a curt nod, and he could only reassure himself that he was leaving them in safe and familiar hands, both to him and them. ''One condition!'' he shouted up at the Dalek. ''If I come with you, you spare the lives of everyone here, and that means Alexandra as well! Do you hear me?''

A small pause, and then, ''The humans and the Time Lady will be spared. Doctor… follow.''

''Then we're coming with you,'' Martha said, bridging the distance between the three.

''Martha, stay here,'' he told her. ''Alexandra will need your help here, so do what you do best. People are hurt. You can help them.'' He looked between the two women again, the plea evident in his eyes. ''Let _me_ go.''

Even though Alexandra had all the energy to put up a fuss, the prospect of being in the presence of the Daleks again, even at her own will, deflated her confidence somewhat. She didn't know how she had even mustered enough nerve to talk to them like that before, but she guessed she had a lot to go on: these were the creatures who were responsible for the deaths of the only family she had ever known, the destruction of her planet, not to mention why she hadn't been raised by her own mother in the first place. Besides, they only called the Doctor, and the people of Hooverville would need some stability after losing Solomon, and she had been here for a whole year. She wouldn't take over, of course not. But someone had to reassure them that they would now be safe and no one would try and steal them away at night.

That was, of course, if they managed to drive the Daleks off.

And she had a feeling the Doctor would be needing her and Martha for something more than just damage control on Hooverville for that to be possible.

So for now she could do nothing more than stay silent and just wrap her hands – with some difficulty due to her height – quickly around his shoulders in a tight hug before stepping away from him regretfully. ''You better come back, do you understand?'' she asked, and it wasn't just a prompt: it was a request.

His surprise at the gesture was short lived, though, and he nodded reassuringly. ''I will.''

When Alexandra turned around to walk back to Martha, the human looked to all the world as if someone had left her hanging alone from a single rope in the dark, betrayed. The Doctor hadn't told her he was leaving her forever! So when she reached her, she put a hand on her shoulder, making the human look up at her as she gave it a quick squeeze.

The Doctor made to walk away, but seemed to remember something halfway through and spun around to face the girls. ''Oh, and can I just say…'' He took Martha's hand, clasping it with both of his. ''Thank you very much.'' And with a wink at the both of them, he turned around and strode away, following the Daleks that flew ahead.

When Martha looked down at her hand, she saw he had pressed the wallet containing the psychic paper in her palm. She opened it, hoping it might contain something to help her, but all that was inside was the blank paper, making her stare at it in confusion.

But for Alexandra, that was all that she needed. Before she could occupy herself with the likes of the Doctor's plan, however, she had to restore some balance to Hooverville. Straightening her back, she walked to the people gathered behind them. ''Alright, listen here, everybody! We've got work to do! Doctor Jones,'' she gestured at Martha, who spun around at the mention of her name, albeit a bit surprised at the use of the title, ''will be seeing to all the wounded in a moment at the pavilion with the help of Tallulah over there,'' she pointed at the blonde in the end where she could see her at the front. ''But that's not all! We need to search for any survivor that might still be in the woods, so if some of you would be so kind as to form a search party to scour the nearby area, it'll take less time. Also, I need people to help me salvage everything we can from the ruins our attackers left behind. Come on! Get to it!''

The effect was instant: people nodded and hurried off, some towards the pavilion where the men had been fighting in the morning, some gathered off to the side, shouldering riffles and prepping themselves to head out, and the rest moved to Alexandra's side, listening intently to the instructions she gave out on how they would move around the small settlement. Martha would never have guessed, after seeing the girl being somewhat idle at the hospital or when she was shaking like a leaf in the presence of a Dalek, that she would carry such authority when the need arose. Though, she should have guessed that she wasn't one to stand back with her arms crossed if her defiance to Solomon (who was now lying dead very near her, she thought, swallowing the lump in her throat) or her previous argument with the Doctor was anything to go by.

''I'm not a doctor,'' was the only intelligent thing that left her mouth, making Alexandra focus on her. ''I'm a medical student, I haven't gotten my degree yet.''

The Time Lady seemed to weigh her with her gaze for a moment before she took a deep breath and walked towards her, placing a hand on her shoulder again. ''Martha Jones, people have been hurt, people that would be grateful of your help right now more than anything, whether you have a degree or not. _This_ is where you'll prove you deserve that degree.'' Her icy blue gaze, aimed straight into her eyes had Martha rooted on the spot. ''Tonight, for all intents and purposes, you _are_ a doctor, and nothing will get in the way of you doing the job you've been trained to do, you understand?''

Her words – her utter belief in her capabilities – made the human's heart flutter in her chest and she nodded in understanding. ''I'm on it, ma'am,'' she assured her, a smile on her lips.

Alexandra laughed at the formal address and patted Martha's shoulder once before turning to the group gathered behind her. ''All of you; let's go!'' she called, and everyone left for their designated duties, even Martha Jones.


	9. Genetic Engineering

A/N: I hate my life.

Not only am I uploading this late, but FF wouldn't let me upload this document to the site for the past hour! And I even tried my sister's computer, but whenever I tried to login, it threw me out again and I've been trying not to disassemble both computers in the house and get murdered by my sister...

Since I remembered (quite late) reading in a Time Lord wiki page that it should be harder for Time Lords to communicate telepathically without touching (as they are touch telepaths), I went ahead and edited out the telepathic communications between Alexandra and the Doctor in previous chapters to remain closer to canon. I explain the consequences of such distant telepathic communications in this chapter.

Now I'm gonna go shuffle in a corner and cry about how I'm not at SDCC (that DW panel killed me, all my babies together, and flawless Michelle Gomez is flawless *dies* and also Sardonyx is now my dream cosplay). Anyone who wants to join me can reach out to me in the reviews for a group hug.

* * *

A little while later, Martha found herself in a tent at the central pavilion, tying a bandage around the arm of a man, having already checked over a couple dozen people who had come looking for medical assistance. Tallulah had been a great help, ready to fetch anything Martha asked for, and she was grateful to at least have her around, seeing that Alexandra was busy going around Hooverville, helping put out fires and pick up tents throughout the settlement. Right now, she could see her across from where she was working, helping a couple of people gather various items in a tray that had been sent flying during the explosions.

All the while, Martha had been thinking about the psychic paper the Doctor had slipped her before he left. What did he want her to do? Could Alexandra know? The fact that he left her the wallet was a sign on its own that he wanted her to do something, but it would have been more helpful if either Time Lord had told her what the hell she was to do with it!

''Here you go,'' her thoughts were interrupted by Tallulah appearing in the tent, holding a pot of water. ''I got some more on the boil.''

''Thanks,'' she told her, finishing up the knot she had been tying. ''You'll be all right,'' she said to the man, ''it's just a cut. Try and keep it clean.''

As the man thanked her and left the tent, Tallulah leaned against the wooden back wall. ''So what about us? What do we do now?''

''The Doctor gave me this,'' she said, pulling the psychic paper out of her back pocket. ''He must have had a reason.''

The woman frowned at the white paper inside. ''What's that for?''

''Gets you into places, buildings and things,'' Martha explained. ''But where? He must want me to go somewhere but what am I supposed to do?''

''Doesn't she know?'' Tallulah asked, motioning with her head towards the direction of Alexandra.

She looked at the woman herself. ''If she does, she hasn't said anything about it.''

The blonde sighed, and Martha slumped heavily against the wall, if not a bit in despair.

~\8/~

The two Daleks didn't say anything while the Doctor walked between them as they led him back to the lab, only the whirring of their machinery filling the silence that had settled. He wasn't complaining, really. If it hadn't been for the still lingering shock at the fact that they had been commanded not to kill him, he might have made any number of snide remarks that were running through his head the moment they addressed him. It was better that they were leaving him alone, at least allowing him to feel the slightest bit of relief that both Alexandra and Martha hadn't joined him as he headed straight for the lion's den.

But he should have known that he wouldn't be able to stay calm. The moment he turned the corner and stepped into the transgenic lab his eyes fell on the suited hybrid, his back turned to him, and he could only see Solomon falling to his knees in his mind's eye.

''Those people were defenceless!'' he shouted for all it was worth as he advanced towards him, Sec turning around at the sound of his voice. ''You only wanted me, but no, that wasn't enough for you! You had to start killing 'cause that's the only thing a Dalek's good for!''

''The deaths… were wrong.''

He physically paused at the statement, eyebrows raised. ''I'm sorry?''

The hybrid took a few steps closer. ''That man, their leader, Solomon, he showed courage.''

''And that's _good?_'' he asked in disbelief.

''That's… excellent.''

The Time Lord measured him with his gaze. ''Is it me or are you just becoming a little bit _more_ human?''

''You are the last of your kind… and now I am the first of mine.''

''What do you want me for?'' he asked, crossing his arms.

Sec walked past him to a table set up with equipment, the Doctor watching him closely. ''We tried everything to survive when we found ourselves stranded in this ignorant age. First we tried growing new Dalek embryos, but their flesh was too weak.''

''Yeah, I found one of your experiments,'' he said with a condescending tone. ''Just left to _die_ out there in the dark!''

''It forced us to conclude,'' the hybrid continued, ignoring his jab at them, ''what is the greatest resource of this planet- its people. And then we remembered… what the biggest achievement of the Dalek creator was… what we had created during the Time War. The Dalek Regnant.''

The Doctor stiffened visibly at the mention of the title. Of course, how could he not? The biggest slap in the face of the Time Lords, their most shaming moment in the history of the Last Great Time War, pure evil wearing the face of the most intellectual being in the cosmos. That was what the Dalek Regnant was. He hadn't been there at the first year of the war, when Davros had revealed his masterpiece to the High Council nor had he ever seen the killing machine up close, but he had heard of its more than efficient work across the galaxies and had almost been cornered by it on the Last Day, during the battle of Arcadia. It had been a close call back then, and he would always be content that it had been destroyed that day, but what the Daleks had done to create it in the first place would always add more fuel to his burning hatred for their race. Because _nothing_ could turn his stomach quite like the thought of what had to be done to create the Dalek Regnant in the first place.

''You would never make another Dalek Regnant in 1930,'' he said as calmly as he could manage, reigning his anger as best as he could, though his tone was fairly darker. ''You don't have the resources to even build a single processing unit, let alone make it work.''

Sec walked to a nearby wall where a set of levers was built in. ''And that was when the idea of hybridization was born.'' And with that, he threw one switch up.

The cavernous ceiling was illuminated with light, revealing tens upon tens of lineal gurneys suspended in the air, connected by tubes running the length and height of the room. The sheer amount of them made the Doctor's head spin as the pit in his stomach grew. Upon Sec throwing another switch up, one gurney was lowered to the middle of the room right in front of him, so that he could see what was unmistakably a human body, motionless, shrouded by a white sheet.

He took a few steps closer to come and stand on one side of it, studying the shrouded body. ''We stole them,'' Sec explained, standing opposite from him. ''We stole human beings for our purpose. Look… inside.''

At his beckoning, the Time Lord uncovered the head of the body to reveal a man, pale as a corpse with his eyes closed, lying inside. There was nothing - no rising and falling of his chest nor body temperature - to indicate that he was alive. ''This… is the extent of the Final Experiment.''

''Is he dead?'' the Doctor asked.

''Near death,'' Sec replied, one of his withered hands reaching to touch the top of the shrouded man's head, as if to caress it, ''with his mind wiped, ready to be filled with new ideas.''

''_Dalek_ ideas.''

''The Human-Dalek race.''

''All of these people,'' he mused, looking up. ''How many?''

''We have caverns beyond this storing more than a thousand.''

His eyes returned on Sec in alarm at the sound of the number. ''Is there any way to restore them? Make them human again?''

''Everything they were has been lost.''

''So they're like _shells,_'' the Doctor concluded, and he couldn't help but pour the accusation in his voice. ''You've got empty human beings ready to be converted. That's going to take _a hell_ of a lot of power. This planet hasn't even split the atom yet! How're you gonna do it?''

''Open the conductor plan,'' Sec ordered and his fellow Daleks focused behind them.

~\8/~

Alexandra was returning to Solomon's tent to join Martha and Tallulah when she spotted him.

He was sitting on a crate just in the mouth of his tent, his head slumped forward, his shoulders looking heavier than they should. Every once in a while they would give a little heave and one hand would wipe at his nose and on he would go again, as still as a statue, not paying attention to any of the men and women moving about around him.

She took a deep breath. Solomon had been like a father to him after he came here, and the young man saw him as such, having just lost his own. There was no way she would leave him like this.

Frank didn't immediately move when he felt her hovering above him by his side, but his whole body stilled. ''Mind if I join you?'' she asked.

Without uttering a word or raising his head, he shifted on the crate, offering as much space as he could, and she sat down next to him, one arm going around his shoulders. ''How have you been holding up?''

He scoffed. ''How'd you think?'' he asked bitterly, wiping at his nose again.

She gave his shoulder a small squeeze. ''He was a brave man, Frank.'' For some reason, it felt wrong to utter Solomon's name. Maybe it was because she let him die without having resolved their disagreements. To him, it might have very well seemed like she was abandoning her people to the world's mercy without even a goodbye, and that felt like a stab in her hearts. ''You saw for yourself. He went down fighting for a better tomorrow for his people, he _tried_ to save all of us.''

''But he didn't make it,'' the boy shook his head. ''They killed him anyway.''

Her jaw clenched. ''The Daleks are merciless. There was a great possibility that this would happen.''

Frank turned his head away from her, having trouble choking down a sob, before burying his face in his hands.

She mentally kicked herself for her own stupidity. _Great job, Alexandra._ ''We tried to warn him, Frank, you saw! But he did it anyway!''

''And now he's dead,'' he mumbled, prompting her to put her other arm around him, as well.

''He did it for you! Everything he did was for the town, so that _you_ and I and _everyone else_ would survive! He sacrificed himself so that we could get a chance to see a better tomorrow, you must realise that.''

Frank lowered his hands so that he could look at her, his eyes slightly red. ''Then why isn't he still here?''

That was a question that would always eat at her insides. It wasn't just Solomon's death: the Sisterhood, the civilians on her planet, all those aliens she didn't get to save as a simple human, people she had met in impossible situations during the centuries away from the TARDIS; they all died regardless of their various ''good'' deeds. And as her life went on, even though it had barely been a year since she broke her second hundred, she couldn't help but ask herself what _she_ had done to deserve staying behind and living with all those deaths. What was she going to be like at 1,000 if she already thought like this?

''Life isn't always fair,'' she settled with to reply as she rubbed at his arms to get some warmth in him, even reassure him if she could. ''I don't know how the universe decides who stays and who goes, but I do know that we get to decide how we will act. And he would always act for his fellow people, for those in need.'' Her hands dropped to clasp his own tightly, making him look up at her. ''He died so that you could continue to act for the better. That's all he wanted. I'm sure he didn't want to die, Frank, no one does. But I'm sure he wouldn't want you to sit and mourn him because he's… gone,'' she almost choked at the last word, ''and not try and help those who need your help.''

Frank stared at her for a long while before taking a deep breath and nodding. ''Like he would have done.''

''Like he would have done,'' she smiled. Her hands went around his frame again and he returned the embrace at once, burying his face in her neck. ''Don't waste the chance he gave you, Frank,'' she mumbled in his ear, closing her eyes and letting herself relax in his familiar hold.

''I won't,'' he mumbled back a moment before he released her. His hands went to wipe at his eyes. ''I guess someone will have to get those idiots around here to stop fighting at some point.''

At his comment, she couldn't help but chuckle.

''Frank?''

The call came from ahead of them, and both of them turned around to see Martha and Tallulah approaching. Alexandra winced internally: she had completely forgotten about the human and the Doctor's plan for a moment there.

Frank hummed questioningly once they reached him.

''That Mr. Diagoras, he was like some sort of fixer, yeah?'' Martha asked. ''Get you jobs all over town?''

''Yeah. He could find a profit anywhere.''

''But where, though? What sort of things?'' There was a certain urgency in her tone, and she kept fiddling with the leather wallet the Doctor had left her.

''You name it. We're all so desperate for work, you just hoped Diagoras would pick you for something good. Building work, that pays the best.''

''But what _sort_ of building work?''

''Mainly building that,'' he said, pointing over his shoulder.

Everyone's eyes turned on the imposing Empire State Building towering over Manhattan.

Alexandra patted Frank's knee twice before springing to her feet. ''So,'' she started, pulling her hood over her head and looking between the three, ''shall we?''

~\8/~

''Yeah, yeah, yeah, the Empire State Building,'' the Doctor said, hands almost casually in his pockets as he observed the pop-up projection of the building in front of the control hub of the lab, as if Sec wasn't standing right next to him and three other Daleks weren't surrounding him. ''We're right underneath that. I worked that out already, thanks. But what, you hijacked the whole building?''

''We needed an energy conductor,'' Sec explained.

''What for?''

''I… am the genetic template. My altered DNA was to be administered to each human body.'' The projection changed to show a normal strand of human DNA, and on its right the DNA of a Dalek, looking like a human's, albeit spiked. As he watched, a wave of energy went through both, breaking them apart and getting rid of certain parts, only for the two distinct types of DNA to snap together into one. The notion alone would give Alexandra a field day. ''A strong enough blast of gamma radiation can splice the Dalek and human genetic codes and wake each body from its sleep.''

The Doctor frowned. ''Gamma radiation? What are-?'' But then the projection changed yet again, now showing the Empire State Building on Earth and then expanding to include the sun, and that's when he realised. ''Oh, the sun, you're using the sun!''

''Soon… the greatest solar flare for a thousand years will hit the Earth,'' the hybrid said as the pop-up showed just that. ''Gamma radiation will be drawn to the energy conductor and when it strikes-''

''The army wakes,'' the Doctor concluded. But even after the full on PowerPoint presentation, he wasn't clear on one thing. ''I still don't know what you need _me_ for.''

''Your genius,'' Sec said, and he couldn't help but feel a bit flattered, considering who the comment was coming from. ''Consider a pure Dalek: intelligent but emotionless.''

He regarded the Dalek before him. ''Removing the emotions makes you stronger. That's what your creator thought, all those years ago.''

''He was wrong.''

The Doctor's eyebrows shot to his hairline. ''He was what?''

''It makes us lesser than our enemies. When he was making the Dalek Regnant, he took away its emotions, but… in doing so, he deemed its greatest asset useless.''

''It didn't seem to stop it from decimating entire populations,'' he grumbled under his breath, making sure it very well reached Sec's ears.

To his satisfaction, the hybrid looked at least a bit uncomfortable. ''His methods were incorrect. We must return to the flesh, and also… the heart.''

The conflicting views this Dalek was presenting him with were very surprising. ''You wouldn't be the supreme beings anymore.''

''And that is good.''

''That is incorrect,'' Caan stepped in and they both turned to the Daleks behind them.

''Daleks are supreme,'' Thay agreed.

''No, not anymore!'' Sec argued.

''But that is our purpose,'' Thay insisted.

''Then our purpose is wrong!'' the hybrid said with more vehemence than the Doctor would have ever expected a Dalek to make in a statement about its own species. ''Where has our quest for supremacy led us? To _this._ Hiding in the sewers on a primitive world. Just four of us left. If we do not change now, then we _deserve_ extinction.''

''So you want to change everything that makes a Dalek a Dalek,'' the Doctor realised, barely believing the insinuation.

''If… you can help me,'' Sec agreed.

He remained staring at him, dumbfounded.

~\8/~

''I always wanted to go to the Empire State,'' Martha confessed as all four of them were riding a service elevator up the near-finished structure. ''Never imagined it quite like this, though.''

''Where are we headed, anyway?'' Frank asked.

''The top's our best bet,'' the Time Lady said stiffly from his side, her nails digging slightly into her arms as she had them crossed over her chest. ''Construction's still underway up there.''

''How come those guys just let us through?'' Tallulah wondered. ''How's that thing work?''

''Psychic paper,'' Martha laughed, taking it out of her pocket to show them. ''Shows them whatever I want them to think! According to this, we're two engineers and two architects.''

Frank took the wallet in his hands and flipped it over a couple of times, allowing Alexandra to catch a glimpse of the information among the fractals. She raised an eyebrow. ''Harkness?''

''That's what you used, yeah?'' Martha asked.

She shrugged. ''Don't like it anymore. Reminds me of a friend that went missing.''

''Then what do you use?''

Her hands dropped to beat rhythmically against the wall, just to have something to do to keep them from drawing blood. ''Dunno yet. Nothing sounds right.''

~\8/~

''Your knowledge of genetic engineering is even greater than ours,'' Sec was explaining as they walked back to the shrouded man. ''The new race must be ready by the time the solar flare erupts.''

''But you're the template. I thought they were getting a dose of you,'' the Doctor said with a frown.

''I want to change the gene sequence.''

''To make them even _more_ human?''

The hybrid stared down at the near-dead man. ''Humans are the great survivors. We need that ability.''

''Hold on a minute! There's no way this lot are gonna let you do it!'' the Doctor observed, pointing back at the still pure Daleks.

''I am their leader!'' Sec declared, louder than necessary, as if accused by the Time Lord's words.

''Oh, and that's enough for you, is it?'' he addressed the three Daleks, turning to them.

''Daleks must follow orders,'' Thay chanted, a phrase that, if he was being honest with himself, he had grown tired of hearing.

''Dalek Sec commands, we obey,'' Caan agreed.

''If you don't help me…'' Sec told him, ''nothing will change.''

''There's no room on Earth for another race of people,'' the Doctor tried to get through to him.

''You have your TARDIS.'' Sec joined his fellow Daleks, going to stand right in the middle of the eclipse they had created around the Doctor. ''Take us across the stars. Find us a new home and allow the new Daleks to start again.''

He couldn't help it: the idea of creating a race of Daleks that wouldn't be driven by the need to destroy everything that wasn't them sounded so appealing the Doctor could hardly believe it had been a Dalek who had suggested it. Could he really just ''fix'' his greatest enemies and be done with them? Could he really just get rid of the beings that caused so much despair in the universe? Did he really have that power? ''When's that solar flare?''

''Eleven minutes.''

The Time Lord gulped. ''You should have let my friend join me. She's a geneticist, this would go much faster with her here.'' Despite the fact that he didn't want her anywhere near a Dalek blaster, he had to admit it would move on quicker with her expertise, not to mention he would get an earful after playing in a transgenic lab without her.

''The Time Lady is too erratic,'' Sec explained. ''We have never met her before and... we didn't know if she could be trusted.''

''She is in the human settlement,'' Jast said in his high pitched voice. ''You will cooperate or she will die!''

The Doctor stiffened. _Good thing she's no longer in Hooverville, then,_ he thought, though said none of how he had felt the hum at the back of his mind grow stronger when she arrived at the building a few minutes prior. ''Right then,'' he breathed, pushing past the Daleks to a work bench, ''better get to work!''

~\8/~

The quartet exited the elevator and stepped into a spacious room littered with benches and construction equipment. Judging by all the papers and chairs occupying the space, Alexandra surmised that someone had been using the room as an office. The regular lift with the double golden doors was to their right and an open area off to the side filled with scaffolding and metal rods overlooked the Manhattan skyline below.

''Look at this pace!'' Tallulah mused, twirling on the spot. ''Top of the world!''

''Okay, now this looks good,'' Martha said, walking to some architectural plans that had been propped at the side, and Frank and Alexandra joined her.

''Hey, look at the date,'' the man pointed at an inscription at the bottom that read ''Nov 1st''. ''These designs were issued today. They must've changed something last minute.''

''You mean the Daleks changed something?''

''Not unlikely,'' Alexandra said as she ruffled through the other sheets. ''If they controlled Diagoras, then they had control over everything: the design, the materials, you name it.'' The footnotes on the sheet right underneath caught her eye. ''The ones underneath are the old ones, right before the new issues. Ever played 'spot the difference' on magazines, Martha Jones?''

''We need to check one against the other,'' the girl concluded and the three of them got to work taking the huge sheets off the lectern.

''The height of this place!'' Tallulah was saying in the background. ''This is amazing!''

''Careful, we're a hundred floors up!'' Martha called to her. ''Don't go wandering off!''

''I just wanna see,'' the blonde assured her before stepping out on the deck.

Alexandra clapped her hands together. ''Okay, you two get started, I'll check on the Doctor real quick to make sure he's not being held captive or something.''

''How are you gonna do that?'' Martha asked in confusion.

''With a little difficulty, so please, don't even _consider_ interrupting me,'' she replied. She sat down on the ground next to the gold lift and pulled her knees up to her chest.

''Why, what happens if we interrupt you?''

''Oh, it'll be too much of a bother to drag my dead body back to the lift,'' she deadpanned. Martha's eyes widened and she turned to help Frank, avoiding even looking at the girl on the floor.

She wasn't going to die over such a small distance, but if she tried to contact him, say, from New York while he was on a different planet or a different time zone, it was a great possibility that she would. Telling the human that would only assure they wouldn't try and distract her for any reason. Pushing her way through their shared Time Lord conscience was a cheap way to contact him, not to mention dangerous in an unsafe environment, one of the reasons Alexandra hadn't called for him this whole time to come and pick her up. Right now though her worry was prevailing over all emotions, and she was sure she would do something she would regret unless she made sure the Doctor was alright.

She pressed her forehead to her knees and exhaled slowly, willing every thought to cease in her mind with the motion, letting it clear enough for her to tap into the Time Lord conscience and multiply its intensity tenfold. Her mind was a well-flexed muscle, trained up and constantly fuelled by all the processes it runs on a daily basis to allow for her to control and navigate it with relative ease, and now she let the hum prevail, the indicator that there was another Time Lord out there, letting it dominate until it was a clear network of thoughts, and from there it was just a matter of stretching far enough to reach the only mind this connection now led to: the Doctor.

A short while later, she could see what he was seeing almost as clear as day: the transgenic lab, the Daleks moving about, and the Doctor with a yellow solution in his hands, squatting before a large vat of a green liquid to study his results. His thoughts raced around genetic splicing and the number 11. _''There's no point in chromosomal grafting, it's too erratic! You need to split the genome and force the Dalek-human sequence right into the cortex,''_ he was saying, not staying still for a minute as he jumped to his feet and dived for another table to add a darker yellow solution to the one in his hand, causing white vapour to bellow out of it.

_''We need more chromatin solution!''_ Sec's voice sounded behind him.

_''The pig slaves have it!''_ the deep voice of Dalek Caan replied.

_'You're playing with the fancy toys, you lucky bastard,'_ Alexandra mused.

All of a sudden his thought process stilled. _'Alexandra?'_ he asked incredulously.

_'Missed me?'_

_'How are you doing that?!'_

_'We have a shared link with the species, remember? I needed to see what you were up to. We're in the Empire State.'_

The Doctor leaned slightly over the table and closed his eyes. Some of the strain of reaching over was relieved as he focused on the connection himself. _'I noticed.'_

_'What do they want with you?'_

Quickly, he brought up the whole conversation he had had with Sec, about the energy conductor and wanting to make his new hybrids more human. She shifted through the information with no small amount of confusion. _'He actually wants to make them _more_ human?'_

_'It looks like it.'_

_I would have grafted a kill switch in the Dalek DNA if I had a chance,_ she thought to herself with an odd satisfaction, only to realise her mind wasn't that private anymore when his thoughts turned defensive.

_'Alexandra, he wants to give them emotions,'_ he said. _'There is actually a Dalek who believes their purpose isn't right. What you're talking about is genocide.'_

It was her turn to turn defensive. _'Well, I'm sorry if I don't have the fondest of memories with them.'_

_'Cursing innocent beings who couldn't help being turned into Daleks to death is not an option, though.'_

He was right. Suddenly she felt very uncomfortable. _'Sorry, it's just... It doesn't feel right,'_ she confessed. _'You working with the Daleks. They are made to hate, that won't change.'_

_'But one has,'_ he countered.

Alexandra sighed internally. _'Fine, but be careful of the other three. There is no way they will let this drop without a fuss.'_

_'I will,'_ he promised and she felt him push her away. She slowly retracted her mind and stayed still for a few moments, letting the bond slowly recede until it returned to the comfortable hum at the back of her mind and allowing her repressed thoughts to return to their usual abundance.

''I wish the Doctor was here,'' she heard Martha say as she opened her eyes. ''He'd know what we're looking for.''

Alexandra raised her head. Frank was nowhere to be found and Martha was kneeling on the floor in front of some scattered blueprints, Tallulah standing above her. ''I take offence at that statement,'' she said and her voice came out just a tad hoarse.

Martha's eyes flew to the Time Lady. ''Sorry,'' she told her sheepishly.

The Time Lady cleared her throat before almost jumping up with a nonchalant shrug. ''I suppose I haven't proven my worth to you since you did for me.''

Martha couldn't help but smile a bit at the almost compliment as Alexandra joined her on the floor. ''That's not true! All the things you did in Hooverville, hacking the hospital computer… Those were impressive.''

''Not as impressive as the Doctor, though, were they?'' she countered, setting down the sheet she had picked to look at Martha. ''I get it, Martha. You've spent more time with him than you have with me. Women are always more impressed by men who can sweep them off their feet... or people in general, shouldn't judge.''

She raised an eyebrow. ''And that excludes you?''

Alexandra chose not to reply right away, taking her time raising the blueprint up to examine it. ''I've been around the block a few times and I haven't found one that can have that effect on me.''

''No one as impressive as the Doctor though, were they?'' Martha asked with a knowing look, her heart actually aching at the small sad smile the Time Lady gave.

''He might have had that effect once,'' she agreed, ''but I was too young, and since then information has arisen that I cannot possibly ignore. His usual razzle dazzle isn't as effective as it was.''

The human looked at her questioningly. ''What do you mean, what happened?''

Alexandra took a deep breath and dived back into her research. ''Oh, that's a conversation for a time when the Daleks aren't breathing down our necks.''

The human could sense that was the end of the conversation, so she followed the girl's example and took another blueprint to examine, curiosity burning her insides.

''So tell me,'' Tallulah started, and Martha could have sworn she had almost forgotten she had been standing there, listening in on their exchange, ''where did you and him first hook up?''

''It was in a hospital,'' she replied, ''...sort of.''

Tallulah nodded in realisation and went to kneel next to her. '''Course, him bein' a doctor.''

''Actually, _I'm_ a doctor,'' she told her. ''Well, kind of.''

''You're a physician?'' the blonde asked incredulously and she nodded with a smile. ''Really?''

''I was training. Still am, if I ever get back home.'' At the end, her smile slightly dropped.

Tallulah's eyes widened in excitement. ''You could be doctors together!'' She gasped at the notion. ''What a partnership!'' When Martha turned back on her blueprints, the blonde shook her head. ''Oh, it's such a shame. If only he wasn't so… _different._ You know what I mean?''

''Oh, you have no idea how different he really is,'' Martha mused without looking at her.

''Yeah, he's a man, sweetheart. That's different enough.''

''Wait,'' Alexandra frowned, looking at Tallulah, ''what do you mean different?''

The show girl stared at her like it was obvious. ''Him being into musical theatre and all.''

As Martha studied her, the Time Lady's frown deepened until her eyes widened to the size of saucers and she coughed, the sound sounding like a badly disguised snicker to her ears.

At Tallulah's previous comment though, she couldn't help but sit back. ''He had this… companion a while back,'' she started. ''This friend. And ever since then he's been on his own. But you know, sometimes I say something or do something and he looks at me, and I just sort of think… that he's not seeing me. He's just remembering.''

Alexandra stared at the woman out of the corner of her eye, an uncomfortable feeling settling over her chest. Had she turned down a place in the TARDIS to escape her mother and Rose's shadow only to condemn Martha to the fate _she_ had been trying to avoid? Was this the price she had to pay to feel safe by the Doctor's side? Make another person suffer through feeling invisible so that she could go on a path of self discovery? Had she seriously thrown this young woman under the bus so that she wouldn't have to face her guilt should the Doctor get hurt while she was away?

Suddenly she felt she had more in common with this human than she ever realised.

''Aw, listen sweetheart,'' Tallulah said, laying a hand on Martha's shoulder. ''You wanna get all sad? You wanna have a contest with me and Lazlo?''

''No,'' Martha shook her head. ''But listen, if the Doctor's with Lazlo now, there's every chance that he could get him out.''

''And then what?'' she demanded. ''Don't talk crazy. There's no future for me and him. Those Dalek things took that away. The one good thing I had in my life and they destroyed it.'' And with that she stood up, wrapping her coat closer to herself and heading back towards the open deck.

The time traveller looked on sadly as she walked away before turning back to the blueprint, catching Alexandra staring at an undefined point in the distance almost guiltily. ''What is it?''

The Time Lady jumped slightly and turned her icy blue eyes on the girl as if seeing her for the first time. Quickly, she shook her head. ''Sorry, were you saying something?''

Martha studied her face. ''Nothing,'' she mumbled before diving back into her search. Alexandra spared the human one last sympathetic look that she couldn't see before following her example.

It was only moments later when the silence broke again.

''Gotcha!'' Martha said in glee. ''Look!''

Both Alexandra and Tallulah rushed to her side to look at the blueprints before her. ''There, on the mast. Those little lines?'' she pointed to a set of bold lines running parallel to the mast on the revised blueprint that weren't present on the old one. ''They're new. They've added something, see?''

''Added what?'' Tallulah wondered.

All three turned to look at each other with huge grins on their faces a beat later. ''Dalekanium!'' they all shouted in realisation, Martha laughing at the end.

Alexandra wanted to slap herself. ''Of course! The gamma strike will be drawn to the energy conductor through the Dalekanium up top and down to the Daleks!''

''What are you on about?'' Tallulah asked in confusion.

''There's no time to waste!'' Alexandra ignored her and shot to her feet quicker than the two women could blink and ran in the direction of the deck.

''Wait!'' Martha shouted, making her stop. ''Shouldn't we wait for the Doctor to come?''

''He's taking his sweet time coming up; he's rather preoccupied at the moment, I'm afraid. Besides…'' she threw her cloak behind her shoulders and spread her hands invitingly, ''I need to prove my worth to you.''

''You don't need to do anything!'' the human insisted, but Alexandra just picked up a spanner that had been discarded on the floor. It could not work, but she wasn't gonna pull out the big guns if she didn't absolutely have to.

''Still, that Dalekanium won't remove itself. See you later!'' And with that, the Time Lady turned on her heel and walked on the deck, thanking her heavens that her footwear was stable enough not to let her slip and that her mind hadn't been too overworked in the past couple of hours.


	10. No Better Than A Dalek

A/N: Hi! Short version: not dead. Long version: my beta didn't have an internet connection and couldn't send me the edited chapter. And then I didn't have an internet connection and couldn't upload it. Fun times. But the chapter's long, so I hope that makes up for that!

I'm also super excited because I'M GOING TO CYPRUS! I got a place in one of the Erasmus programmes and they're going to Cyprus in September and I'M GOING TO CYPRUS! Sure, it's very close and the culture is very similar to ours, but it's _another country _and I'm gonna _meet new people from other countries _and _get on a plane for the first time_... Okay, not _that_ excited for the last part...

So, I started a new writing project with my sister and we've fallen head first into it: we've designed the apartment of one of the protagonists exactly how we want it (and the second protagonist's is coming right along), we've started a timeline that covers almost all the back of our bedroom door, we've written out detailed character sheets and have figured out 2/3 of the plot... And I don't know when I'll update again. That project has taken over my mind right now and I'm a bit reluctant to deviate from that train of thought, and this story might distract me from the outlining process and rhythm we have fallen into. I will try to get a chapter up in two weeks time (I promised you nightmares, and you're getting nightmares...), but other than that, I can't promise you anything.

So on you go, and be sure to let me know what you think!

* * *

Alexandra had never been afraid of heights.

Being a hundred floors off the ground was a challenge.

Climbing a metal scaffolding with no place to plant her feet in the middle of a storm was another matter entirely.

How she even reached the mast without slipping or dropping the spanner from between her teeth (she could really do with pockets) she had no idea, and she wanted nothing more than to drop a kiss on the wooden deck the moment she found herself on horizontal ground. But she didn't have time for deviations; in front of her were three pieces of Dalekanium, the material from which a Dalek's armour was comprised of, bolted tightly to the mast by four bolts each. She reckoned that if she could manage to loosen two for each plate she would be able to remove them, but she was faced with a problem right off the bat.

The bolts were dome shaped and the spanner wouldn't latch on.

Alexandra cursed internally. Why did she always have to resort to this?! Why, in all her years, couldn't she _not_ use that function of her brain long enough for it to be eradicated? Why did she have to put her mind under such strain? She wanted to let that potential die for good, for it only took away from other more important functions, but she just wouldn't let it fade away on its own! What had she ever asked for? Maybe control over her chronokinesis, maybe even an answer as to why some of her knowledge wasn't tethered to memories, but was an ability she wasn't even supposed to have to be lifted too much to ask for?

Falling heavily to her knees with an exasperated groan, she let her palm hover above the top bolt of one of the plates, her other one holding onto the mast to prevent her from being tossed off the edge. The wind howled in her ears and pulled at her cloak with such force she found herself being pulled backwards, but she held on fast, trying to block it all away and concentrate. She first gathered all her psychic energy, a thing harder to do when she wasn't completely mentally drained like she had been at the Royal Hope, but completely understandable, seeing as she wasn't supposed to be using it on her own without the mental support of ten or so of her sisters. But use it she did, and she should really have a good argument with herself after this was over regarding her use of it. For now she could only huff with effort, trying to concentrate on one thing: the bolt, and how much strength it would require to turn it in reality, holding the image and the sensation at the front of her mind and letting all her mental strength pool into it.

The bolt started turning agonizingly slowly only moments later.

~\8/~

The golden elevator dinged and Martha, Tallulah and Frank turned from putting the blueprints away toward the opening doors to see the Doctor and Lazlo, now a half-turned pig man, inside. ''Doctor!'' Martha exclaimed.

''First floor, perfumery,'' he greeted with a smile.

''I never thought I'd see you again!'' Tallulah said as she ran to Lazlo.

He met her halfway and pulled her in a hug. ''No stopping me,'' he told her, burying his face in her neck.

''We worked it out,'' said Martha as she pulled the Doctor to the blueprints. ''We know what they've done. There's Dalekanium on the mast and it's _good_ to see you too, by the way!''

''Oh, come here!'' the Doctor grinned and lifted her in a hug, twirling her about… only for the bell to ding again and him to drop her abruptly. ''No, no, no!'' he shouted as he sprinted to the lift just as the doors closed, wiping out the sonic. ''See, never waste time with a hug!'' He tried using the sonic on the panel next to it, only to beat the frame in frustration. ''It's a deadlock seal. I can't stop it.''

''Where's it going?'' Martha asked after she joined him.

''Right down to the Daleks. And they're not going to leave us alone up here. What's the time?''

Frank stared at a clock nearby. ''11:15.''

''Six minutes to go,'' the Doctor concluded. ''I've got to remove the Dalekanium before the gamma radiation hits…''

''Gammon radiation? What the heck is that?'' Tallulah asked with a frown.

''Where's Alexandra?'' the Time Lord suddenly asked, coming up one head short. It was odd how she hadn't come up to him yet, either for a hug or a scolding.

''She's up top trying to get the Dalekanium off,'' Martha replied.

He felt all blood leave his face. ''What?'' he breathed in shock.

His companion – or near companion at this point – led him to the deck outside. Once he saw the actual height they were up on he stopped dead in his tracks right at the edge. ''Oh, that's high. That's very - _blimey_, that's high!''

''And she's gone even higher.'' She turned around to a wooden ladder leading upwards. ''That's the mast up there, look. There's three pieces of Dalekanium at the base. We've got to get 'em off.''

''That's not 'we'. That's just me,'' the Doctor countered, dead serious.

''I won't just stand here and watch you two!'' she protested.

''No, you're gonna have your hands full, anyway. I'm sorry, Martha, but you've got to fight.'' And then he was off before she could say anything else.

The climb up the ladder had been a stroll in the park. It was the imposing metal scaffolding that awaited him that made him gulp. As carefully as he could and thanking the universe for the long legs this regeneration possessed, he grabbed hold of the metal beam and walked along the edge, right over the hundred-floor drop underneath, and hoisted himself up, placing his foot on the place where the beams met to form an X, offering him a boost to go on. On his way up his hand slipped and he almost lost his balance, but he grabbed on to the metal as tightly as he could, the harsh wind almost tearing him away, and with a few more heaves he met wood and pulled himself up of the deck around the mast.

The sight before him made both of his hearts stop.

Alexandra lay slumped against the mast like a puppet with her strings cut, pale as a phantom, beaded with sweat forehead pressed against the pole, one hand over the loosened top bolt she had been working on, eyes half closed. She barely seemed conscious.

''Alexandra!'' he shouted over the wind as he made his way over, dislodging her rigid limbs from the mast. ''What have you done?!''

Her lips moved, barely but he could see them, but the howling of the wind around them was louder than her words. Gently, he pried her off completely and lay her on the wooden boards as close to the mast as possible, her body feeling like a dead weight, and he wrapped her cloak around her pale frame as best as he could. One hand involuntarily went to caress her cheek, cold against his skin, a reassuring gesture both for him and her, and for a moment she leaned into his touch before her eyes fluttered shut.

When he was relatively sure she wasn't going to roll off the edge, he got down to business. Getting out the sonic screwdriver, and with only three and a half minutes to go, he started working on the remaining bolt of the panel Alexandra had chosen, the process going slower than he would want with a bolt this size, and he almost sagged with relief when it came loose and he shook the first plate of Dalekanium off, throwing it aside and moving to the next one. That one was firmly drilled on the base, none of the bolts loosened by Alexandra, so he had to put extra patience in the task as he aimed and waited, his eyes not helping but turning to the sky all the while. The storm was moving in fast, lightning ripping the clouds apart and illuminating the night, the cracking of the thunder pressing against his body the closer it came.

That particular bolt was very stubborn and almost wouldn't budge, and he wanted to give it a good punch, if not to make it move then to expel his own frustration; but it only took one wrong move in his impatience for the screwdriver to slip from his fingers, dropping below. He dived for it, but it was already too far away.

He stared at the dark clouds above him. The storm was more persistent than before, its time almost imminent, and the other two plates showed no sign of coming off any time soon. He grabbed the bolt casing and pulled at it with his bare hands, grunting with effort, but of course that wouldn't work. He hadn't loosened it enough for it to come off so easily, and now he had no means of removing the rest.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a pale hand grab hold of the mast.

''No, no, no, no, no!'' he shouted, jumping to his feet to force the weak Alexandra to sit back down, but she shook him off. Her lips were pressed together in concentration, brow furrowed by the sheer effort she put into holding on to the pole with only one hand.

''If you have a better idea, then come stop me!'' she shouted back, bringing her other hand up to hold the pole.

''We can think of something else!''

''There's no time!''

He knew there wasn't, but he still couldn't bear to watch as she pulled herself up and climbed on top of the base, wrapping her arms around the pole tightly even on her shaky knees, her cloak flapping behind her in the wind, almost ten seconds before impact. The reason why she could be so stubborn escaped him, but he knew he was just as much as her. And that's what he kept telling himself as he joined her up on the mast, his arms going around her to hold her should she lose her balance.

''What are you doing?!'' she almost shrieked.

''There's no time!'' was what he offered her, not that he wasn't going to sit and watch her suffer the excruciating pain of being struck by lightning while he did nothing.

Her eyes studied him for a moment, seemingly deciding whether there was more to his explanation that met the eye, but she didn't tell him anything if she did before she wrapped her own arms around him, bringing the pole against their chests. She shut her eyes tightly, and the Doctor kept his gaze on her for a second longer before turning his eyes to the sky.

The lightning came moments later.

~\8/~

Pain. That was all Alexandra could register. Her head felt like it had been split open and something cold and sharp was being pressed against her very brain. And she couldn't even move, despite the fact that she wanted to raise her hands to grab her head so much that the inaction was painful on its own. She was immobilised under the excruciating agony, and the sensation of something clawing at her brain sent intense goose bumps down her spine, and she couldn't even cringe to relieve the tension on her shoulders.

When the uncomfortable feeling finally receded, it had felt like ages. Her limbs were made of lead, and her head was about to burst either way, but the worst part of her ordeal faded like a dream, leaving her feeling as heavy as having just woken up after an extremely ill-timed nap… or heavy sedation. She couldn't decide which it was.

She attempted to roll her head to the side to see where she was, only for a sharp migraine to grip her temple and make her groan, stopping the motion before it had eve started. ''Fff-fine,'' she spat out to keep from uttering some very inventive curse words she had heard from her students over the years, ''you little - gosh!''

''Alexandra!''

The cry bounced around her skull like sound inside a church bell and she winced, mustering enough strength to finally raise her hand and bring it to rest rather heavily on her forehead. ''Not so loud!'' she protested, though she speculated that she had actually spoken louder than the person. ''The headache's bad as it is.''

''I'll say.''

It felt like peeling away her own skin, but she managed to blink her eyes open and look up as three figures crouched above her, too foggy to make out. It took a few seconds, but when her vision cleared, she saw Martha and Frank staring at her from the side and the Doctor almost right above her head. As her body relaxed even more, she could also feel the latter's hand on her shoulder and Frank's at her waist, almost as if the two were pulling her more towards them as she lay on her back on wooden boards.

She raised an eyebrow, an action that sent a rather sharp jab at the centre of her forehead, which she ignored in favour of not losing face, even though the grimace she was sporting was worthy of an award. ''Something tells me that we haven't gathered here for a tea party.''

''Do you remember what happened?'' the Doctor asked slowly.

Alexandra felt like cobblestones had been dumped in her head, but she tried to work it out either way. Slowly, her memory started coming back: there had been Dalekanium, and a very stubborn bolt, and a huge strain on her mind, and the Doctor gathering her in his arms, and the crack of thunder in the air like a whip… At once, her eyes widened. ''Please tell me I'm not lying on the edge of this thing while all of you have been playing _Operation_.''

All three exchanged guilty looks. Before she could advice against it, the Doctor's hands went under her armpits and she was raised to a sitting position, her head nearly exploding at having to support its own weight so suddenly. Below her she could see the Manhattan skyline from a far too narrow deck that barely fit the four of them, and she averted her gaze to avoid having to fight off the delirium on top of her headache.

''At least the Dalekanium was dealt with, eh?'' she commented off-handily, rubbing at the back of her head, before her eyes fell on the two plates still attached and she glanced at the Doctor, who was looking at her with a very cross look on his face. She could only look at him sheepishly. ''Well, dealt with in a way…''

~\8/~

''_Telekinesis?_'' the Doctor said incredulously. ''You've been practising telekinesis ever since you left?''

''I haven't been practising it, I barely use it,'' Alexandra called down to him as she climbed down the ladder after him. ''The Sisterhood used to let me join my mind with them, and they just pushed the potential to the surface! It's been nearly 50 years since I last had need for it – well, that and the hospital.''

''You used it at the hospital?!''

''The Slab was going to kill me! And it had been 50 years since I had used it before that, are you listening?''

''And you thought on top of the tallest building in New York in the middle of a storm was the perfect place to use it again?''

''We needed to get those plates off, and it wasn't like I had a sonic!'' Her hands gripped the step she had been holding on to a little tighter as an oncoming wave of dizziness made her head spin. They had started climbing down the moment she had assured them she felt stable enough to move, but it would seem she had made a wrong call. ''Fat a lot of good that was, anyway!''

''Like you made any difference yourself!'' he quipped, jumping down the rest of the way when he was at a safe enough height to join Tallulah and Lazlo on the deck of the top floor.

''At least I tried! I didn't know you were coming up, did you expect me to sit with my arms crossed while there was Dalekanium on the mast?''

''And pushing yourself to your limits was any better?'' he demanded as he put his hands on her waist to help her down, only to spin her around to force her to look into his eyes, hands gripping her arms tightly. ''You could have ended up brain dead.''

''It _wasn't my first choice,_'' she stressed for what felt like the millionth time. ''I never resort to it unless I absolutely have to – do you think I'm that much of an idiot?''

The Doctor stared at her, and his hold loosened. ''Of course I don't think you're an idiot.''

Her eyes were fixed on his expectantly. ''Then why are we having this fight exactly?'' For the first time since they started climbing down, he didn't answer, and she placed her hands on his shoulders. ''I want it to stop, Doctor, I do, but I don't stop using it long enough for it to be contained. We can talk about it as long you want later, but right now the Daleks will be preparing for a full scale war. Can we please, _for one moment_, focus on that?''

She could see his reluctance in the way his lips were pressed together, but she allowed herself to relax when he nodded. Only then did her eyes shift from his own... only to land on something over his shoulder and widen. She raised a hand to point behind him. ''Who's that?''

He cast a glance behind him at the couple, Lazlo with one arm around Tallulah. ''Oh, that's Lazlo, I found him in the sewers when I was looking for you.''

Alexandra's eyes didn't decrease in size, but she nodded slowly.

''What do we do now?'' Martha asked from behind her.

The Time Lord let go of Alexandra to look at the New York skyline spreading out below them. ''The Daleks will have gone straight to a war footing. They'll be using the sewers, spreading their soldiers out underneath Manhattan.''

''How do we stop them?'' Lazlo asked.

''There's only one chance,'' he replied, turning to face the group. ''We got in the way. That gamma strike went zapping though us first.'' And without any further explanation he turned to head inside, followed closely by the Time Lady.

''But what does that mean?'' Martha asked as she ran after them, the rest following close behind.

''We need to draw their fire,'' Alexandra said, not much of a reply but that was all they would be getting. ''If our plan worked, then we need to face them before they can start their attack.''

''Where can we draw them out?'' the Doctor mumbled, mostly to himself, while both his hands ran through his hair to make it even messier than it already was. ''Think, think, think, think. We need some sort of space, somewhere safe, somewhere out of the way... Tallulah!'' he suddenly cried with a spin to face her.

''That's me,'' the blonde raised her hand, ''3 Ls and an H.''

''The theatre! It's right above them, and, what, it's gone midnight? Can you get us inside?''

''Don't see why not.''

He turned to head for the lift, but saw the bodies of the pig men that had come after them piled up inside – Martha's handiwork while they were up on the mast. ''Is there another lift?'' he asked Alexandra.

''We used the service elevator.''

''That'll do. Allons-y!''

''Oh, I missed that sentence,'' the Time Lady smirked and the group followed Martha to the elevator around the corner of the room.

~\8/~

They had to forgo using the sewers to get back to the theatre, seeing as the Daleks would have unleashed their hybrid army already, so having Tallulah with them to show them another way into the theatre was more than a blessing. The Doctor running ahead of them without so much as a word, on the other hand, wasn't, and they had to catch up with his long strides.

As soon as they entered the main theatre near the back rows, the Time Lord tossed his coat away with such force it flew to the front seats. ''This should do it. Here we go!'' he said as he jumped to perch on the seats and flashed around with the sonic.

Tallulah scoffed as she came behind them. ''There ain't nothin' more creepy than a theatre in the dark,'' she remarked, bringing her coat closer to herself to fend off the cold. ''Listen, Doctor, I know you got a thing for show tunes, but there's a time and place, huh?''

With no warning, Lazlo fell heavily in a seat next to her, panting.

''Lazlo?'' she asked, going to sit next to him and run a hand through his hair. ''What's wrong?''

''Nothing,'' he assured her, though his breathing didn't even out. ''It's just so hot.''

The blonde frowned. ''But… it's freezing in here. Doctor,'' she turned to him, seeing he had brought the sonic next to his ear to check the frequency a little better, ''what's happening to him?''

''Not now, Tallulah, sorry!'' he replied, the device starting to beep in his hand.

Alexandra spared him one glance before moving to the couple's side. She put two fingers on Lazlo's neck, and raised her eyebrows at the fast pulse she was getting.

''What are you doing?'' Martha asked the Time Lord as he raised the sonic in the air.

''If the Daleks are going to war, they'll wanna find their number one enemy,'' he told her. ''I'm just telling them where I am.''

''Heart rate's high,'' Alexandra observed after having gone over his wrist, as well. ''Shouldn't be this high for the amount of running we did.''

''Just leave it.''

When she raised her gaze to the man, she saw him looking at her with a pointed look, and she raised her hands in surrender, backing away slowly.

''I'm telling you to go,'' the Doctor was telling Martha behind her as he climbed down from the seats. ''Frank can take you back to Hooverville.''

''And I'm telling you I'm not going!''

Alexandra let out a breathy laugh. ''Great song,'' she said under her breath.

He cast her a warning look before turning his attention back to Martha. ''Martha, that's an _order._''

''Who are you, then? Some sort of Dalek?''

Suddenly the doors to the theatre burst open and two lines of people marched inside, all as pale as corpses, armed with what looked like modified tommy guns now bearing Dalek blasters. Their faces were clear of any emotion.

''Doctor! Oh, my God!'' Tallulah exclaimed, helping Lazlo up to bring him closer.

Instinctively, the Time Lady stood a little closer to the Doctor, enough to feel his back pressed against hers. One of his hands dropped to brush against hers.

The hybrids positioned themselves in the aisles on either side of the seats, blocking any possible exits. ''Well, I guess that's them then, huh?'' the blonde asked.

''Humans…'' Martha mumbled, ''with Dalek DNA.''

Frank made to advance towards them, but the Doctor grabbed him by the shoulders. ''It's alright, just stay calm. Don't antagonize them.''

''But what about the Dalek masters?'' Lazlo asked. ''Where are they?''

As if prompted by his words, the stage before them exploded and they all ducked for cover behind the seats, the women screaming. When the Doctor did raise his head again, amidst the smoke appeared two of the Daleks, Dalek Sec crawling on all fours between them, chained to the Dalek on the right by a metal collar around his neck like a dog.

Taking a peak over the seats, Alexandra slumped against the back of the one she was hiding behind, eyes shut to calm her breathing. ''Lazlo, there are some sentences we should just keep away from.''

Seeing that neither the aliens on stage nor the hybrids were firing, the Time Lord stood up, and the others followed his example, looking around them at the enemy crowd. One look at them was enough for Alexandra's jaw to clench. This time she wasn't about to cower away. These were the beings who took away her whole life, and maybe even more. They deserved her fear as much as the Doctor deserved her hatred.

But she couldn't stop the frantic beating of her hearts no matter how she tried.

''The Time Lords will stand before the Daleks,'' Thay ordered.

The Doctor looked at her and she gave him a curt nod. Together, they stepped over the seats before them and he walked on the backs of the rows, the Time Lady climbing above them one at a time, coming to stand in front of him after he had taken his place on two chairs in the front row, looking up at the Daleks on stage.

''You will die, Doctor, and your fellow Time Lady will follow,'' it said. ''It is the beginning of a new age.''

''Planet Earth will become New Skaro,'' Jast said from next to him.

''Oh, and what a world,'' the Doctor mused. ''With anything just the slightest bit different ground into the dirt. That's Dalek Sec,'' he pointed at the unfortunate creature between them. ''Don't you remember? The cleverest Dalek _ever_ and look what you've done to him.''

''Will he be the beginning of your new reign?'' Alexandra wondered out loud. ''An example for generations to come? The foundation of your grand empire?''

''My Daleks…'' Sec said slowly, as if it took effort to speak, ''just understand this. If you choose death and destruction, then death and destruction will choose you!''

''Incorrect,'' Thay retorted. ''We always survive.''

''Now we will destroy our greatest enemy, the Doctor!''

She felt the Doctor stiffen behind her.

''But he can help you!'' Sec protested.

''The Doctor must die!'' Jast agreed with his fellow Dalek.

''No,'' he said, crawling in front of the one on the right, ''I beg you, don't!''

''Exterminate!''

Before anyone could react, Sec jumped up, right as Thay fired at the Doctor. The hybrid screamed when the blast hit him before falling on his back in the centre of the stage, dead.

The Doctor shook his head. ''Your own leader,'' he spat out in disgust. ''The only creature who might have led you out of the darkness and you destroyed him.''

Alexandra looked at the Dalek-Humans on either side of them. ''Did you see what they did?'' she asked. ''Did you see what a Dalek is capable of?''

''If we're gonna die, let's give the new boys a shot. What do you think, eh?'' the man above her addressed the Daleks. ''The Dalek-Humans, their first _blood._ Go on,'' he prompted them, holding his hands out at his sides, ''baptize them!''

''Dalek-Humans, take aim!'' Thay commanded.

The sound of tens of weapons being readied broke the air and the hybrids turned their guns on the Time Lords.

Raising an eyebrow in a challenge, Alexandra raised her arms slightly herself. ''What are you waiting for, then? Give the command!'' she shouted at it.

''Exterminate!'' it cried.

Alexandra drew a deep breath in anticipation, as did the Doctor behind her… but nothing happened.

''Exterminate!'' Thay commanded again.

The hybrids had their eyes fixed on the two of them, but they made no move to fire.

''Obey! Dalek-Humans will obey!'' it tried.

''Not firing,'' she heard Martha say. ''What have you done?''

Thay turned its eyestalk to the first man on the row on the right. ''You will obey. Exterminate.''

''Why?'' the man asked, and both Time Lords looked over at him.

''Daleks do not question orders!'' Thay said.

''But why?''

''You will stop this!''

''But… why?'' he repeated, now turning to look at the Time Lords himself.

''You must not question!''

''But you are not our master. And we… we are not Daleks.''

''Of course you're not,'' Alexandra said loud enough for the man to hear, a small relieved smile on her lips, ''and you will never be.''

''Sorry,'' the Doctor said sheepishly, looking up at the Daleks. ''We got in the way of the lightning strike. Time Lord DNA got all mixed up. Just that little bit of freedom,'' he added with a wink.

''If they will not obey, then they must die!'' Thay declared and fired twice at the hybrid, who screamed in pain.

''Get down!'' the Doctor cried as he pushed Alexandra down to the floor with him, her ducking her head in his chest as he pulled her in his arms just before both factions opened fire at each other.

''Exterminate! Exterminate!'' the Daleks shouted, their shielding activated to help them fend off the attacks while they shot at the hybrids, taking out some of them rather easily. But under such concentrated fire, they should have known it was in vain. Jast went first, his casing exploding when the blasts made it through, and Thay followed in the same fashion moments later. When the hybrids stopped firing, a tense silence descended over the theatre.

Alexandra raised her head timidly to look over the Doctor's shoulder to the stage. The Dalek's domes had been blown clean off by the blasts, not a piece left intact. At the sight, she couldn't help the relieved sigh that escaped her lips as she dropped her head on the Doctor's chest.

Feeling her whole body relax, his arms tightened around her and the Doctor gave her a quick once over before jumping to his feet, arms raised. ''It's alright, it's alright, it's alright,'' he told the hybrids around him with a smile, ''you did it! You're free.''

But his mirth was short-lived, for all Dalek-Humans gripped their heads in their hands and shrieked in pain moments later.

His eyes widened in horror. ''NO!''

She was on her feet in an instant, just in time to see their creations crumble to the ground, their life snuffed out in an instant. Her eyes darted over the fallen bodies, every man and woman the Daleks had abducted and rewritten, and suddenly her feet couldn't hold her weight and she stumbled, grabbing a seat for support. They were all dead, she realised. Every single one of the new soldiers had had his or her existence – their new existence – terminated. They had been disposed of like _trash._ In the end, they were of no worth to them.

Nothing her comrades said or did was being fully registered in her mind as she fell heavily in the seat, the hard velvet irritating her skin. The only thought running through her head was how she had wished she could somehow be able to kill perfectly innocent Dalek hybrids, innocent victims in this war, not half an hour ago, and now she felt bile rising in her throat at the bitter realisation, how similar her thought process was to that of the creatures of her nightmares...

If she thought like that, she was no better than a Dalek.

''Only two of the Daleks have been destroyed,'' Lazlo's voice broke through her reverie from off to the side. ''One of the Dalek masters must still be alive.''

Her hands gripped the arms of the seat tighter. ''Of course it is.''

The Time Lord raised his gaze in time to see Alexandra stand up and face them. He was the only one that mattered from the group at the moment, a force compelling her to put one foot in front of the other just to reach _him_, and she was sure that her eyes matched the silent storm inside his brown depths, a darkness that could consume anything and anyone. ''In the whole wide universe…'' she drawled as he stood up to his full height, a smirk that would haunt them pulling at her lips, ''just the one.''

~\8/~

They found him exactly where they thought he would be. The lone Dalek was hooked up to the control hub at the back of the lab, cables and wires connected to the base of his dome and running to the controls behind him. He didn't say anything, only stared at the two Time Lords as they stood on the other end of the lab, their eyes on him, their faces blank of any emotion. ''Now what?'' the Doctor asked.

''You will be exterminated!''

''Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Just think about it, Dalek - what was your name?''

''Dalek Caan,'' it replied.

The Doctor swept his coat back to put his hands in his pockets. ''Dalek Caan,'' he echoed as he walked forward, Alexandra shadowing him with her hands clasped behind her back. ''Your entire species has been wiped out.''

''And now the Cult of Skaro has been eradicated in one single day...'' the Time Lady continued, ''leaving only you.''

Caan stared at them, not saying a word.

''Right now you're facing the only people in the universe who might show you some compassion,'' the Doctor said as they came to a stop a few feet in front of it. ''Cause we've just seen one genocide. We won't cause another.'' Next to him, Alexandra was burning holes in the Dalek's armour with her gaze. ''Caan… Let us help you.''

The Dalek was silent as it took all that in, too silent for her liking. ''What do you say?'' she asked.

The two of them watched the Dalek intently, until...

''Emergency Temporal Shift!''

Caan's whole armour shook and the wires popped off as he started glowing. The Time Lords charged forward, the Doctor with a protesting groan and her with a cry of ''No!'', but they were a moment too late: the Dalek disappeared from right in front of them, making them stop at the spot it had occupied seconds before.

''Doctor!'' Martha's voice shouted behind them, followed by the click of heels and a lot of wheezing. ''Alexandra! He's sick.''

When they did turn around, they were just in time to see Lazlo fall to the ground, guided to a more controlled descent by Tallulah and Martha who were holding him by the arms, breathing heavily all the while. ''It's okay. You're alright,'' Martha assured him as Tallulah pulled him in her lap.

The Time Lords exchanged a look before heading for the fallen trio. ''It's his heart,'' the medical student explained when the Doctor squatted down next to them, Alexandra remaining standing above him. ''It's racing like mad. I've never seen anything like it.''

''What is it, Doctor?'' Tallulah asked, on the verge of tears. ''What's the matter with him? He says he can't breathe! What is it?''

''It's time, sweetheart,'' Lazlo managed to say in between deep breaths.

''What do you mean 'time'? What are you talking about?!''

''None of the slaves… survive for long. Most of them only live a few weeks.''

''I bloody knew it,'' Alexandra grumbled under her breath.

''I was lucky,'' the man continued. ''I held on 'cause I had you. But now… I'm dyin', Tallulah.''

''No, you're not!'' his girlfriend whimpered. ''Not now, after all this. Doctor, can't you do somethin'?!''

The Doctor, who had been listening to them with his hands clasped over his chin, looked at her sorrowfully. ''Oh, Tallulah with three Ls and an H… just you watch me!'' In one fluid motion he was on his feet, striding to the end of the lab. ''What do I need? Oh, I don't know,'' he shrugged off his coat, throwing it away before turning to point at Alexandra, ''maybe another skilled geneticist would be helpful.''

The Time Lady smirked. ''Like you were going to do this on your own again,'' she said, undoing the knot of her cloak and throwing it on some machinery nearby with the same dramatic flair he seemed to be so fond of exhibiting.

He grinned at her. ''And what else?''

She hummed with a shrug. ''Oh, I don't know, how about a very conveniently located genetic laboratory?'' She made a show of looking about herself, spinning on her heel. ''Oh, we're in one!'' When she came back around to face the trio, she winked at Martha. ''What do you know?''

The human couldn't help but laugh at their antics.

''Lazlo,'' the Doctor called, pulling a trolley with various equipment on to the centre of the room, ''just you hold on!'' Before the humans knew it, the Time Lords had started running round the lab in a flurry of movement, grabbing what seemed like exactly what they had been looking for to work with each time, and not once did they get in the way of the other. ''There's been too many deaths today,'' he kept talking all the while. ''_Way_ too many people have died! Brand new creatures and wise old men and age-old enemies. And I'm telling you, I'm telling you right now,'' he threw his sonic to Alexandra for her to start a fire under a container, ''I am not having _one more death!_ You got that? _Not one!_ Tallulah, out of the way,'' he said to the blonde as he put his stethoscope on. ''The Doctor is in!''

~\8/~

The sun was shining brightly over Manhattan the next day, though it didn't help much to alleviate the cold of the season. Still, the time travellers weren't complaining as they waited by a park bench in Central Park with Tallulah and Lazlo, who was bundled up in a huge coat and hat.

Frank hadn't left them waiting for long, and the couple straightened when he finally appeared. ''Well, I talked to 'em and I told 'em what Solomon would've said and I reckon I shamed one or two of 'em,'' he told them.

''Damn right you did,'' Alexandra remarked with a small smile from where she was leaning against the park bench next to Martha, her arms crossed over her chest.

''What did they say?'' the Doctor asked.

Frank nodded at Lazlo. ''They said yes. They'll give you a home, Lazlo.''

Tallulah gasped and hugged her boyfriend tightly.

''I mean, uh...'' he trailed off, ''don't imagine people ain't gonna stare. I can't promise you'll be at peace but, in the end, that is what Hooverville is for, people who ain't got nowhere else.

Lazlo nodded. ''Thank you. I-I can't thank you enough.''

As Tallulah gave him another hug, Frank walked over to where Alexandra was standing and took something out from his pocket. ''You forgot this,'' he said, offering her a small, leather bound journal, looking worse for the wear and held closed by a matching leather string wrapped around it.

The Time Lady gasped at the sight of it. ''I can't believe it! Why on Earth would I-Oh, I'm getting old... Is this what getting old is like?'' she turned to the Doctor.

''Oi!'' he protested before nodding to the journal. ''What is that?''

''My dream journal,'' she deadpanned as she took it in her hands. ''It's none of your business at the moment.'' She then looked at Frank, sincerity in her eyes. ''Thank you for bringing it to me, it would have completely slipped my mind.''

''Yeah, you always carry it 'round, and I didn't see you with it now, so... Do you really need to go?'' the young man asked, sounding almost defeated.

Alexandra smiled and punched him lightly on the arm. ''It's time for me to go back home, Frank, wherever that is. It was never New York for me.''

''Can't you stay a little longer?''

At that, she laughed. ''Oh, many have asked, no one has succeeded in making me.'' Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Doctor sit up straighter.

One of her hands went to touch the young man's arm. ''Don't worry, everything is going to be fine. They still have you, don't they?''

''And you're sure I'll be enough?'' Frank asked.

She scoffed at the absurdity. ''You were enough back there on your own, weren't you?''

He seemed to contemplate it for a few moments before his face broke into a grin and he pulled her into a hug, laughing as her hands went to wrap themselves around his neck. ''I hope I see you again, Frank,'' she mumbled in his ear, though her hearts felt heavy in her chest.

~\8/~

''Do you reckon it's gonna work,'' Martha asked them later when they had returned to Liberty Island, ''those two?''

''I don't know,'' the Doctor replied in all honesty, turning to look at the New York skyline beyond. ''Anywhere else in the universe, I might worry about them, but New York, that's what this city's good at.''

''Yeah,'' Alexandra almost scoffed as she raised her head from her notes. ''Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, and maybe a pig-slave/Dalek-mutant-hybrid to pass the time, huh?''

Martha laughed. ''The pig and the showgirl.''

''The pig and the showgirl,'' the Time Lord agreed with a smile.

''Just proves it, I suppose,'' she mused. ''There's someone for everyone.''

Upon her gaze involuntarily turning to the Doctor, Alexandra didn't fail noticing how his face fell at his companion's remark. ''Maybe,'' he replied quietly before striding towards the TARDIS.

As much as she wanted to say something to comfort him, anything to maybe make him feel better, Alexandra bit her tongue. She wasn't sure anything would be of much use, anyway.

Next to her, Martha seemed to be regretting opening her mouth. ''Meant to say…'' she said as the girls followed after him, ''I'm sorry.''

The Time Lady frowned. ''What for?''

''Just cause that Dalek got away. I know what that means to you two. Do you think you'll ever see it again?''

The Doctor unlocked the doors. ''Oh yes,'' he replied, holding them open for Martha to enter, only to pause just inside the doorway to look at the city spreading out before him thoughtfully. ''One day…''

Alexandra hugged herself as an involuntary chill ran down her spin. She shook her head to get the uncomfortable feeling away, only to spin on her heel to point at the Doctor. ''I'm driving,'' she said in all seriousness.

His pensive expression immediately became an indignant one as she pushed past him to get inside. ''You drove the last time you were in here!'' he protested, shutting the doors behind him.


	11. Between The Idea And The Reality

_The round door slid inside the wall loudly, disrupting the otherwise dead silence in the ship. The corridor beyond followed the same shape as the door, giving her the feeling she was walking right into a tube; she had to clasp her hands in front of her to keep herself from touching the metal walls to guide herself down the dark expanse. Apart from the hidden blue lighting radiating off the walls, there was no other source of light to help her see anything beyond her nose. Her footsteps echoed as she walked forward, each step mirroring her heartsbeat. _

_The red signs painted on the walls glowed menacingly under the blue lighting, making a strange feeling crawl up her spine as she moved forward. She knew where she needed to be. She knew who waited at the end. She knew she had someone to please. What she felt didn't matter, it never had. Only her purpose mattered, and the reward at the end of the line. And even though her comrades had left her to her own devices, she couldn't have been happier, because she had no intention of sharing her prize with anyone._

_It seemed she had been walking for ages and ages, her eyes never quite adjusting to the lighting distorting her vision, before she reached the final chamber. The door opened with a terrible moan, metal scraping against metal, and she heard the last of her comrades disappear in the shadows. The room was open to almost all levels of the ship, giving her the feeling that she had stepped into the bottom of a deep well, the ceiling not even visible from where she was standing. The lighting was no better in here, and the hovering blue bulbs were no good in illuminating the group of people huddled in the middle of the room. When they saw her, some cowered away, but as soon as the shadows touched them, they recoiled back to where they had been. Despite the darkness, she could see one figure sprawled in front of her, and she was pretty sure the person was already dead._

_With not a single glance downwards she stepped over the body, gathering up her long robes as she went to stand in front of the group. She heard a small whimper come from somewhere in the centre of the room, and most of them were breathing heavily as they looked up at her. ''Please,'' one young man said in a heavy accent, ''we never did anything wrong. You don't have a reason to keep us here.''_

_''That is not for me to decide,'' she replied, her gaze fixed on him in the semi-darkness. ''I do not have a say in what happens to you.''_

_''But you can let us go. You can help us. You can even come with us. I can't see how someone like you can do all the things they say you do.''_

_She paused, considering his words. What were they saying? Wasn't what she was doing a normal thing someone like her would do? What was the matter? Everything she did had a natural outcome, and sometimes people outside of her circle called it a ''consequence'', but she could never see how her actions had consequences. Didn't her actions have the usual outcome? ''I cannot see how someone like me would not. It is, after all, my duty.''_

_There it was, the whimper again. The man that had been talking to her turned around briefly to whisper something before turning to face her again. ''Please, I beg you-''_

_He never finished his sentence, for the blast of golden energy that came out of her left hand hit him square in the chest, illuminating Frank's wide eyes before he fell back on the ground, accompanied by the sickening crack of his spine as he landed against a metal protrusion on the floor. The people gathered in the room screamed, but the sound got lost in the depths of the room, and one by one they fell victims to her blasts until there was nothing to be heard._

_In the heavy silence that followed, it was easier to pick up the shallow breathing of the person she had stepped over, and she turned on her heel to stare down at him. The scarce lighting only served to illuminate his teary eyes. ''If you… keep doing this,'' he said in barely a whisper, ''wh-who's gonna save you?''_

_Her arm was up before he had finished speaking. ''I do not need saving,'' she stated before she let the blast fly, seeing Solomon's face in the light moments before it found home… _

Alexandra's eyes flew open with a gasp. Her limbs were a tangled mess in her duvet, trapping her under its weight, and she scrambled to throw it off with a desperation she was surprised she even had. The cool air of the room felt like a kiss against her hot skin, but the illumination her hands offered at that moment left her no time to relax before she swung her feet off the bed.

The first thing she did was start an analogue stop watch she had set up on her bedside table and then place two fingers on her neck, feeling her frantic heartsbeat thumping under her skin, and she popped a thermometer into her mouth before her free hand curled around her knee. _Breathe in_, she chanted in her head, inhaling deeply, _and breathe out_, she exhaled. _Breathe in, and breathe out... _

Steadily, her hearts slowed their frantic rhythm, and with them the light that had engulfed her arms concentrated on her fingertips, tiny sources of light that were soon extinguished by her making a fist. Only then did she bow her head and exhale loudly one last time, her tense shoulders slumping forward. Then, she reached over and stopped the watch. Opening the drawer of her bedside table, she pulled out her journal and untied the string to head to a log at the very beginning, a long list of times that occupied several pages. The thermometer beeped in her mouth and Alexandra placed it next to her on the bed as she jotted down the number of the entry she was putting down and the time it had taken for her to suppress the glow next to it at the end of the list.

Immediately she raised an eyebrow. Comparing the number she had written down to the previous one on the list, she noticed that it had taken less time for her to calm down, almost a quarter of a minute. She had calculated an average time, scrawled in a bolded box a few pages back, and though it was usual for each measurement to deviate from that average, she had never seen a drop that big. She put an asterisk next to the latest measurement and flipped through blank pages to reach another log, this time a long list of temperatures. She consulted the thermometer before writing down the temperature she had displayed this time around.

_Curious_, she thought as she compared the number to her average temperature. _It has never dropped that much._

Adding another asterisk, Alexandra flipped to the last section of her booklet, pages upon pages of text filed under entry numbers corresponding with different measurements. After writing down today's entry number with a thick line underlining it and putting an asterisk next to it, she started her usual assumptions:

_Sleeping quarters moved to the TARDIS. _

_Resting period: 1 Earth hour_

_Outcomes upon waking remain the same. Unusual decrease of resting time and core temperature after this sleeping period. Factors contributing to this change to be determined. _

Her hand stilled over the page, Solomon's eyes still shining under the beam of vortex energy in her mind. Swallowing hard, she started a new paragraph.

_Dreamscape still holding the same essence. Murder still the prominent feature. Place was now a seemingly inoperable cargo ship. Large group of people gunned down by yours truly. _

Not even her small quip could keep the lump in her throat from reappearing before she finished the paragraph.

_Among the dead were Frank and Solomon._

Her eyes travelled around the dimly lit room, the hum of the TARDIS coming from within the walls actually helping her concentrate on calming herself down. How she had ended up here, in the time machine, in a room that she wasn't even sure was her own, she couldn't even comprehend. The Doctor had extended the invitation for her to stay once, and that had included choosing a room, and given the chance to do so again, she couldn't even remember what her own room had looked like. But by some unimaginable twist of fate, an opportunity to stick around a little longer had presented itself, just when they had been about to bid Martha Jones goodbye for what seemed like the last time.

And it had been as easy as turning on the TV...

**...oOo...**

_The Doctor pulled a lever and the time machine stilled with a characteristic groan. ''There we go!'' he cheered. ''Perfect landing, which isn't easy in such a tight spot.'' To make a point, he raised his eyebrows at Alexandra with an accomplished look on his face._

_''You should be used to tight spots by now,'' Martha remarked as the Time Lady made a face right back at him. ''Where are we?''_

_''The end of the line,'' he replied, the human wasting no time rushing to the door with a grin. ''No place like it.''_

_Martha turned around to look at him questioningly and he nodded encouragingly. Her smile widened and she threw the doors open, stepping outside…_

_...only for her excitement to deflate miserably at the destination. ''Home,'' she deadpanned. ''You took me home?''_

_Alexandra followed the Doctor outside and looked around at the flat. He had landed in the small living room, the TARDIS barely fitting between the coffee table and the desk, the big window letting sunlight bathe the room in light. The space wasn't exactly tidy, but it had that characteristic lived-in feeling, and anyone could see Martha's personality in all the decorative pieces and colourful details. ''In fact, the morning after we left, so you've only been gone about 12 hours,'' he elaborated, stealing a glance at a set of photos of young Martha and her siblings on display on a shelf. _

_Alexandra squatted next to the Doctor to get a look at the lower shelves. ''No one will have even noticed you've been gone.''_

_''But all the stuff we've done - Shakespeare, New New York, old New York?''_

_''Yep, all in one night - relatively speaking. Everything should be just as it was: books, CDs... laundry.''_

_Alexandra looked up at them just in time to see a wide-eyed Martha snatch a pair of lingerie from the Doctor's finger, and she couldn't help but giggle._

_''So, back where you were,'' he concluded, ''as promised.''_

_The girl blanched. ''This is it?''_

_She raised herself to her full height as the Doctor inhaled deeply. ''Yeah, I should probably… um…''_

_He was interrupted by the ring of the phone. _

_The answering machine immediately picked it up. ''_Hi! I'm out! Leave a message!_'' said Martha's cheery recorded voice._

_The real Martha looked away sheepishly. ''I'm sorry.''_

_There was another beep. ''_Martha, are you there? Pick it up, will you?_'' the voice of an older woman said, sounding just a tiny bit urgent._

_''It's mum. It'll wait,'' the girl in question waved it off._

_''_All right then, pretend that you're out if you like,_'' the woman went on, her remark earning her giggles from the people listening. ''_I was only calling to say that your sister's on TV. On the news of all things. Just thought you might be interested._''_

_Martha frowned and picked up her TV remote as the call ended, and she turned on her TV. On the news was an old man, maybe in his 70s or 80s (Alexandra could never really tell), taking to the crowd of gathered reporters, a young black woman looking very professional behind him. ''_...the details are top secret..._''_

_''How could Tish end up on the news?'' Martha wandered as the Time Lords joined her to watch the screen._

_''_...Tonight, I will demonstrate a device…_''_

_''She's got a new job,'' she explained over the voice of the man. ''PR for some research lab.''_

_''_...with the push of a single button, I will change what it means to be human._''_

_''Sorry,'' she said as she switched off the TV just as reporters started asking questions. ''You were saying we should...?''_

_The Time Lord took a while to tear his gaze from the now dead screen. ''Yes, yes, we should...'' He supported himself on the half-open door of the TARDIS. '' One trip is what we said.''_

_Martha looked down at her feet. ''Yeah. I suppose things just kind of… escalated.''_

_He hummed in agreement before he frowned slightly. ''Seems to happen to me a lot.''_

_Alexandra bumped his shoulder with her own, an eyebrow raised, earning a laugh from all of them. _

_''Thank you,'' the human said earnestly, looking between them. ''Both of you. For everything. And seeing you again,'' she added, laying a hand on the Time Lady's arm._

_Both aliens smiled. ''It was our pleasure,'' the Doctor replied before heading inside the time machine. Alexandra laid a hand over Martha's briefly before following him. _

_With a sigh, she moved to one part of the console, helping him take off from the small flat. But they hadn't spent a full minute in silence before their eyes met again, both of them pointing at the other in mutual realization. ''Did he just-?''_

_''I think he did,'' he agreed with her unfinished statement and both of them put in the materialization sequence, landing a moment later back into the same spot they had just__vacated. They both reached the door at the same time, popping their heads outside to look at a very startled Martha, Alexandra's head under the Doctor's. ''No, I'm sorry. Did he say he was gonna change what it means to be human?''_

**...oOo...**

Humanity was incredible.

It was a species that didn't have that long of a lifespan. They often didn't make great efforts to help each other unless there was something they could gain. The highest authorities kept them secluded and often withheld information that would help them advance. They read between the lines frustratingly slow and often saw things that weren't there. Sometimes they would be too trigger-happy and others would show a complete disregard for the rules. As of late they couldn't decide if the aliens that came to Earth should be negotiated with or not.

And they were utterly _splendid._ They hadn't been on the planet that long, but their brilliant minds had allowed them to make rapid advancements in all fields, whether it be science or culture. Their short time on their planet didn't stop them from living life to the fullest. They had children, they got jobs, they tried to make the best of the short time they had. They fought for their beliefs with every fibber of their being and loved with every piece of their heart. And God forbid someone tried to take away something that was theirs.

Alexandra had always admired the humans' abilities, ever since she had been one. In the following centuries, they would spread across the universe and sear themselves in the stars. They would endure for _millennia,_ survive through hardships and destruction because they had each other. If that wasn't a feat worth of her awe, then what was?

And how was that man going to change what it means to be human?

His words had puzzled her, and still did, even now as she made her way to the console room, having discarded her borrowed nightgown for her normal clothes and bidding a regretful goodbye to her cloak for the evening. To choose to alter anything that made a human _human_... She couldn't, for the life of her, understand what the professor meant with his words, but she could admit: she was downright intrigued. In theory, a species had the right amount of advantages and disadvantages, each one developed under specific circumstances in specific environments for a specific reason; natural selection at its finest. To step in the middle of this process, to intervene with the way a species evolved and adapted to its surroundings, to upset the balance between its assets and its weaknesses, that would require a very bold attitude and a very open mind. Even _she_ could never bring herself to go that far in her experiments.

When faced with thoughts like these, Alexandra would compare Time Lords to humans. She couldn't help it; in times like these, she always remembered the time she had spent as a human, no matter how short that had been. Humans had one heart; Time Lords had two. Humans couldn't survive the vacuum of space; Time Lords could for some time. Humans had short lives; Time Lords could live for hundreds of years before even regenerating for the first time. Humans were so small, yet would do so much; Time Lords had resigned themselves to observing, never interfering. Humans rushed to share their feelings with each other because their lives were fleeting; Time Lords not only didn't feel the need to do so, but were connected telepathically with their entire species.

There were billions of humans. There were still billions of humans to come.

There were only two Time Lords.

That conclusion always made her stomach turn.

Humans could survive just as they were. How did the man hope to change them?

The console room was empty when she finally reached it, something she hadn't expected to be grateful of. The hum that was present throughout the ship was louder here, and the clicking of all the devices covering the console offered an escape route from her thoughts. Tentatively, Alexandra reached out to touch the coral frame of the console with her right hand, running her fingers over the rough surface, and was surprised when the machine gave what could only be described as a satisfied hum in return.

A small smile played on her lips. ''You like that, girl?'' she called up to the rotor.

In reply, she got a new content hum.

Alexandra giggled. Oh, the absurdity of it, talking to a machine! What would her colleagues think of her if they saw her talking to yet another piece of tech? They certainly wouldn't understand that this piece of tech had a mind of its own, and a soul to go with it...

Her smile fell. Yes, the ship had a mind and a soul of its own, but it would never give her a piece of its mind or a reason behind why it did what it did...

Her feet carried her forward of their own accord, her hand trailing over the coral, and soon enough she was standing over the green panel facing the door. Immediately she lifted her hand away and rested it on her chest, cradled between her hearts, safe from all the interference this part of the console could inflict. No matter how much she had tried to forget over the years, no matter the effort she put into pushing it away, the memory of that godforsaken panel opening wouldn't go away. Even now she could imagine it, as if it was playing out before her eyes: her hand, laden with the gold energy, being pulled down on the panel before it lifted, the blinding light enveloping her, so inviting and warm, an extension of herself, the energy simmering, beckoning her to claim it...

Alexandra shut her eyes and turned away from the console. She hadn't realised it before, but her hands were shaking. She quickly tucked them underneath her arms.

Taking a calming breath, she looked up at the time rotor again. The TARDIS seemed to have stilled, holding its breath, waiting for her next action. The notion unnerved her. ''Why did you do it?'' she said quietly to the silence. ''Opening your heart in the middle of an incursion is dangerous, so why do it?''

For once, it seemed that the TARDIS wasn't keen on replying.

''You must have felt the vortex leaking from me, and your response was to open the heart, but why? What would you gain?''

A sudden burst of static to her left had her look at the monitor halfway around the console in puzzlement. Standing on her tiptoes, she reached over and pulled it towards her with a grunt of effort, only to be treated to a series of videos seemingly recorded from a point on the TARDIS ceiling.

The first showed chaos. The console room was shaking, sparks flying left and right, smoke wafting up from the panels... and its occupants seemingly in a deadly standstill. She could see – to her surprise – Jack, missing half the bulk of muscle he had now and with his hair combed back, standing next to a pillar by the doors, a man in a leather jacket and shortly-cropped hair she remembered as another incarnation of the Doctor, someone she had witnessed in his mind oh so long ago, standing vigil by the console. And bathed in the light of the heart of the TARDIS was an overweight woman in a dress suit, one arm a horrifying green appendage made of muscle with long claws wrapped tightly around the neck of Rose, the Doctor's former companion. As she watched, the woman looked into the heart, captivated by the bright light, and a serene look descended upon her face. The light grew brighter, and the skin suit the Raxacoricofallapatorian was wearing fell away on the floor. With a small time jump in the feed, the occupants were all squatting around it, the Doctor holding up a mud-green egg with tentacles on top.

''_She can start again!_'' the Doctor was saying cheerfully in a Northern accent, a thing that took her aback. ''_Live her life from scratch. If we take her home, give her to a different family, tell 'em to bring her up properly, she might be all right!_''

Alexandra frowned. ''Why are you showing me this?''

Instead, the monitor went to static again, only to show another video: this time, the console room was unusually still, and Rose was alone inside, along with another blonde woman in a tan leather jacket. It looked to Alexandra like they were having an argument, the unknown blonde pacing up and down the console, her face always away from the camera recording them. She was making overly exaggerated movements, pointing outside the open doors, racking her hair and motioning wildly at the console, halfway between accusatory and infuriated. Rose, on the other hand, couldn't even meet her eye.

A moment later, the sound came on. ''_Do you really want to go back? Do you really want to join him in the middle of all that? Because once I do this, once this panel is lifted, I cannot guarantee your safety,_'' the unknown woman was saying.

Rose stared at the panel, then up at the woman, and then her eyes turned to a point outside the door. She nodded a second later. ''_He needs our help,_'' was all she offered.

The next jump of the video showed the panel swinging open under the woman's hand, both of them now engulfed by the brightness of the light before the static erased the image from before the Time Lady's eyes.

She gave a slight slap to the side of the monitor. ''You're trying to tell me something, but what?!'' she hissed in annoyance.

The next video made both her hands grip the monitor tighter, because it was all too familiar.

In the grainy image she saw _herself_, so much younger and with darker hair and eyes, working on the panel facing the door, the Doctor on the other side of the console. They were setting up their trap for the werewolves, she knew, to get them away from this planet and to keep them from biting her, but they would never get to implement their plan: energy had started to gather around her hand, and she called out to the Doctor in fright, but before he had even reached her side, her hand had been pulled to the panel and it had swung open.

The white dress she wore shone as bright as the sun, blinding Alexandra even as she saw herself through the monitor. She would have called it vanity, but right now, watching as tendrils of energy danced around her, the light of the heart falling on her like an overly bright spotlight, complementing her skin and making her hair look so much darker in comparison, she couldn't help but be captivated by her image. With the golden energy of the vortex around her, waiting for her to claim it, to finally _embrace_ her potential, she only now realised how _right_ it all looked.

And that shook her to the core.

With an angry flick of her hand, she sent the monitor spinning away from her. ''Stop it,'' she mumbled, taking a few steps back, ''I don't want to see it again, I don't-''

A loud crash interrupted her words.

Alexandra spun around to look at the doors, behind which the sound had come from. She rushed over and pushed them open, only to be met with a truly unusual sight.

By the window of Martha's flat now stood half a bookcase with a metal frame, its top two shelves having fallen to the floor along with anything that had been on them, books and a round mirror and even a plastic model of Earth, and the Doctor standing before it, his back to her, one of the wooden shelves in hand.

The moment he heard the doors open, his shoulders tensed. ''I can explain,'' he started, not even trying to look at her.

Alexandra crossed her hands over her chest and leaned against the door frame, an amused smile playing on her lips. ''Please, do tell.''

Slowly, the Doctor turned around to face her, shelf still held miserably in his hands. His mouth opened and closed several times in an attempt to form words. ''I was looking at the globe.''

She raised an eyebrow, biting down the urge to laugh. In two strides she was next to him, and she reached down to pick up the globe that lay among the fallen items to show it to him. ''This globe?''

''...yes?''

''And what, did it fall off its axis?''

The hands holding the shelf fell and the Doctor sighed in defeat. ''Fine, it was an accident.''

This time she couldn't help herself: she did chuckle. ''What will Martha say if she finds you destroying her furniture?'' Only now realising it, she briefly surveyed the apartment with her gaze. ''Where is she, anyway?''

The Doctor seemed extremely relieved at the change in subject. ''She went to grab some food,'' he said as he knelt down to gather up whatever had fallen, ''she didn't have anything in.''

''She didn't have to,'' she said as she spun the globe on its axis to examine it.

''She wanted to, after all we've been through.''

''And what a lovely thank you this will be!''

His movements stilling, the Doctor examined the mess he had made and cringed. ''Yeah, but everything will be in its proper place before she-''

But just as he was about to finish his thought, the main door creaked open and hit the sofa, followed by a groan. ''Doctor! You should really move the TARDIS, I can barely-'' But Martha stopped short at the sight of the two wide-eyed Time Lords standing with pieces of her bookcase in hand.

The Doctor looked down at the shelf still his hands and quickly slotted it back into place before looking sheepishly back at the girl. ''Well, you _just_ moved around it, hardly a challenge.''

Martha could only stare incoherently at the mess, barely able to motion at it properly with her full-with-bags hands. ''What happened here?''

Alexandra's gaze didn't waver from her as she raised a hand to point at the man beside her. ''He did it.''

''Snitch,'' he grumbled under his breath.

The bags were set down on Martha's desk and the human stared at the Doctor. It could have been called a glare, but the Time Lady could see it in her eyes: she couldn't quite get mad at the Doctor over this. ''If you manage _this_ while we're both gone, what are you gonna do while I'm helping Alexandra pick out what to wear?''

Alexandra nodded, but then did a double take. ''Help with _what_?''

~\8/~

''What do you think?''

Martha turned around from going through a rack of medieval dresses to see Alexandra holding a gown against her body. It was light pink and silk and reminded Martha of dresses an elf princess would wear, with a v neckline and small white stones creating patterns on its empire waist and leaving her arms bare.

Despite it being a lovely dress, she shook her head. ''You're already pale. They'll think you're glowing.''

The Time Lady considered this and shrugged. ''As long as they don't mean it in a bad way,'' she remarked, dropping the gown nonetheless on a fast growing pile of previously discarded dresses in the middle of the floor. The two had relocated to the TARDIS wardrobe to find the appropriate outfit for her to wear… but Martha hadn't thought her plan through that well. Given the chance to look for clothes in _there_, she would probably drown in all the garments rather than find something appropriate to wear.

''Haven't you ever gone to a black tie event?'' she asked the Time Lady as the later groaned from behind a rack of floor-length gowns. ''You are 200 years old, surely you must have.''

''I have, but being a professor in the 51st century requires a _slightly_ different dress code when it comes to those.''

''Haven't you gone to an event in the 21st?''

''Once, but I looked 14, and it was more of a royal wedding than a black tie event.''

Martha changed racks, but what her companion had said made her frown. ''Wait a minute, you're a professor?''

Alexandra looked up and smiled. ''Genetics, Luna University. They keep the seat warm in case I go back – you know, time travel and all.'' Her smile slightly fell. ''Sometimes even _I _don't know when I will go back.''

''The Doctor doesn't seem to stand still wherever he goes, how come you stayed somewhere long enough to become a professor?''

The question seemed to amuse her friend, for she leaned a little closer to Martha over the rack. ''I'm not the Doctor,'' she said in a conspiratory whisper and disappeared behind the rack once again, the sound of metal dragged across metal the only sound between them.

Martha frowned. ''Then why did you leave?''

Hangers stilled over the metal railing, and the human was concerned her question had struck a raw nerve. ''Not by choice,'' was the reply she was given.

She couldn't say she was relieved by that answer. But it had been so rare for her to have a conversation with someone else these past days _but_ the Doctor, and she hardly knew anything about Alexandra apart from the fact that she and the Doctor had an affinity for bantering. She wouldn't press her on the matter, but she did have to get something off her chest. ''The Doctor told me how your planet got destroyed. I'm sorry.''

Martha half-expected another silence, but instead, the Time Lady gave her a small smile. ''Thank you, Martha Jones.''

''Did you know the Doctor before the Time War?''

To her surprise, the Time Lady chuckled. ''Oh no, that would be a _tiny_ bit impossible. I grew up off planet.''

Martha's eyebrows shot upwards. ''Really?''

Alexandra shrugged. ''Yeah. I was… a nun, so to speak. During the war, someone left me to a sisterhood on a planet close to Gallifrey, Karn. Well, close, so to speak… But I grew up with them and I became part of the sisterhood.''

''Then how did you meet the Doctor?''

''I… ended up on Earth in this century, a totally different person than I was before, and he helped me out of a difficult situation I had found myself in, totally by accident. And he helped me become who I was supposed to be.''

Martha frowned. ''That sounds deep, how come you didn't travel with him afterwards?''

The mere question seemed to drain the Time Lady's eyes of any colour. Suddenly, she seemed keen to avoid her gaze. ''Remember how I said that some information came to light?'' At her nod, Alexandra clasped her hands in front of her, tapping at her knuckles with her index finger. She seemed extremely torn, as if contemplating whether telling her would be the best idea or not. It felt like eternity had passed when she finally broke and threw her hands up in frustration. ''It's very complicated, I shouldn't bother you with it-''

''B-but I want to know!'' she offered. ''If it's only between you and the Doctor, you'll never get it off your chest.''

Alexandra pursed her lips in thought, contemplating her words, before giving a sigh. ''I am the daughter of one of his friends.''

It took nearly a minute for the news to settle, but when it finally did, Martha's eyes widened. ''No way.''

''Yes way,'' Alexandra nodded vigorously.

''You-you are the daughter of his friend?!''

''Uh-huh, his best friend.''

''And what was the problem? He even knew your family before the war, he could tell you stuff about them!''

''But I already had a family!''

Martha gave a pause at the exclamation.

''I grew up with lots of admirable women around me. Yes, we weren't related, yes, some didn't like the fact that I was a Time Lady, but they embraced me as their Sister, they let me in on their rituals, they even gave their lives for me when I would never ask for them to do so!''

She seemed to regret letting that slip, for she immediately turned her back on her. Her hands went to grab the rack in front of her, seemingly to support herself. ''Tell me, what would you do if a friend of yours died and left a child behind for you to take care of? There is no other family member left, just you, her best friend.''

She was taken aback by the question. What would she do? ''I guess I... I would try to raise it the way she would want to. Be a good mum for it. Try my best not to replace her... but not become its friend.''

Only then did Alexandra turn back around to face her. ''Exactly. When I met the Doctor, I was 21 years old, I was an _infant_ compared to him. I already saw him as the best friend I never had and I was so _thrilled_ to travel with him... And then he started acting like my guardian. And then I realised...'' she smiled sorrowfully, ''he wasn't seeing me. He was seeing a responsibility. He wasn't seeing another Time Lord who might need help, he wasn't even seeing a new friend. He was seeing the child who never met her mother.''

It wasn't a concept she had to think about every day. It wasn't something that would happen in her world, anyway. But what must Alexandra have felt when he tried to take the mantle of her father? When her friend started treating her like a child to be schooled? When the ghost of her mother shrouded her from the Doctor's eyes? When he saw her as something his best friend had left him for safekeeping?

Had it felt like what Martha felt every time his eyes grew weary with sadness, when she did something that unearthed memories of a time when another woman stood by his side?

''Had Rose left when you met him?'' The question came out before she could stop it.

Alexandra raised an eyebrow. ''Yes... yet it felt like she was still there.''

She had feared the answer would be something like that. ''Know the feeling,'' she mumbled, more to herself than her.

She could feel the Time Lady's eyes studying her intently way before her hand rested on Martha's shoulder. ''The Doctor has lost much in a very short while. It wouldn't be wise to stretch a fresh wound, even if we think it will help.''

Martha could only nod at her reasoning, even if she could feel a prickle in her heart. ''Yeah, you're right. We shouldn't.''

Alexandra nodded with a smile. ''Now the big question is... what is keeping me from wearing what I usually wear to this thing?''

Martha hadn't realised she had been holding her breath until she felt all air leave her lungs. ''Come on! You convinced the Doctor to wear black tie, it's not fair for him!''

''So you're saying I'm doing it as a courtesy to him?''

''No, you're doing it so that you can ditch the boots.''

Alexandra considered her words before raising an eyebrow. ''He's keeping the Converse.''

Martha chuckled. ''And you are gonna rock a lovely pair of heels. Specifically...'' she trailed off, wandering back to a rack, ''one that will match _this_.'' And she held up one specific dress that had caught her eye.

At the sight of it, the Time Lady's eyes widened in wonder. ''You should go into the fashion industry, Martha Jones.''

~\8/~

Standing just inside of the front door of Martha's house, the Doctor wanted to know which of the two girl's idea it was for him to wait at the entrance.

The moment he had declared himself ready, the girls had unceremoniously shoved him out of the room and instructed him – no, _ordered_ him – to wait for them to get ready. And now he had come to realise the hard way that women of all time periods took roughly the same amount of time to get ready when they have barely any time constrains: _a lot_. He didn't even want to know for how long he had been pacing at the foot of the stairs, in full black tie and a pair of black Converse shoes to match, waiting for them to come down. And it wasn't like he could do anything to entertain himself, only to pace needlessly and try his best not to dig a hole in the floor.

It was a true blessing when he heard the door upstairs creak open and the sound of heels clicking against the woodwork. ''Oh, finally, do you know how long that was?''

The first one to come down the stairs was Martha, in a purple dress with a pleated skirt that reached her knees and a modest V neckline, her arms bare and the tattoo she had on her right arm visible. A wide black headband woven with sparkling thread held her straightened hair back, and she held a purple handbag in her hands. Her beaded necklace, a constant throughout their few adventures, was still around her neck, now accompanied by silver rings on both of her hands a single silver bangle on her right, and she had put on a modest amount of make-up.

Once she caught sight of him, she scoffed. ''We had a lot to do, you know! We didn't just slap on the first thing we could find!''

''Oh, let him whine!'' Alexandra's voice called, close in tow. ''He's jealous he hasn't been a woman yet.''

Martha laughed as she joined him at the bottom, and she got to work straightening his lapels, and he couldn't help but smile at her attention to detail. ''As if that could happen.''

''Well,'' she said, her voice now much clearer, ''when it does, you'll be the first to know.''

The moment he turned his eyes on her, he found it hard to look anywhere else.

He had seen her in formal attire before, but she had looked much younger then. Seeing her now, one hand on her waist and the other on the staircase railing and _older_, was another sight entirely. Her dress was a purple a couple shades darker than Martha's, with a deeper neckline that emphasised curves on her body he would otherwise not notice when she wore her regular dresses with the high necklines. She had managed to keep the same style, though, with the fabric reaching her knees at the front and dropping down to her ankles at the back in those characteristic trains she had been fond of even as a human. Right at the end of the neckline, a beaded embellishment in the shape of a flower decorated the empire waist. Her left hand, now set on the railing, was adorned by a gold grid bracelet. He didn't know what she had done to them, but her eyes, locked with his in a challenge that slowly shifted to curiosity the more he stared, seemed rounder somehow, letting the blue shine through more clearly from within the dark eyeliner and mascara. Her once pink lips were now a few shades darker and closer to a red shade, and even from where he was standing he could see the light layer of foundation she had applied didn't do much to obscure her freckles. Her hair was now parted on the opposite side of which she usually preferred, the left side of her face almost completely obscured by the chestnut strands, and curled ever so slightly at the ends. She hadn't used a barrette to hold it in place: she had merely combed it to the other side and let it fall over her shoulder, and it seemed to do the trick. It suited her more that way, allowing him to see her face from a different angle, and...

''Do you have four piercings in one ear?''

It had been the only relevant thing he could say to stop gawking at her like a fish with its mouth open.

Alexandra blinked away her confusion and smirked. ''I once joined some students of mine for moral support,'' she explained as she made her way down. ''It seemed like a good idea at the time. And I almost match Martha now!''

His eyes darted over to the girl, and he just registered the fact that she had two piercings in each ear. ''Oh, nice,'' he commented as he shifted his gaze between each ear.

''Thank you!'' Martha said. ''They are a bit of a bother, no wonder she doesn't show them as much.''

Once Alexandra joined them, he turned to study her own earrings, in colours that complimented her dress, aided by the height her heels added. ''And why now?''

She merely shrugged. ''I have them. What a better occasion to show them? So...'' She wound her arm around his elbow, seemingly giving Martha the queue to do the same, ''shall we?''

He couldn't help but grin at the women on either side of him. He could get used to this.


	12. AN: Important Announcement

My dear followers,

First of all, don't panic. This is not a goodbye note: I am too emotionally invested in this storyline and my characters to let it go so soon (I mean so early in the narrative, don't you go making jokes about how I take forever to complete a single story). I fully intend to continue _When the Darkness Comes_; the next chapter is already halfway through editing and one step away from being sent to my beta. Second of all, with that being said, I have no idea when said chapter will be up, which leads me to the main point of this author's note.

Looking back at the first instalment of this series so many years after I wrote it, I only see how completely unsatisfied I am with it. My writing style was different, the narrative was all over the place, and some moments were so OOC that I kind of want to slap myself while reading it. Most importantly (not that the aforementioned reasons are not important on their own), I have a more solid grasp of the story and the events leading up to it as well as the events that have yet to come –because the timeline of a Doctor Who story will always be wibbly-wobbly– which are now vastly different from what I had originally planned for this series, aka when I started writing _Whisper in the Dark_.

So, to cut to the chase, **I will be rewriting the first instalment of this series.**

This doesn't just mean some general clean up of the already posted chapters; it literally means a complete and fundamental rewrite of the whole story. When I started the process, I expected to be able to copy some parts over and polish the rest to bring it more to my writing style today, but I ended up rewriting the first chapter of _Whispers in the Dark_ from scratch. Now the chapter is completely unrecognisable and, I shit you not, only two sentences were lifted in their original form, and that not without some editing.

My finals will be over in two weeks (I'M GRADUATING, EVERYBODY), so that gives me plenty of time to undertake the tedious task of rewriting _Whispers in the Dark_ to bring it more to my current standards of writing and update the canonicity of the story now that I know where I want to go with the series. What will happen is that **the story will follow the same events** (or almost the same events), **but** the facts, dialogue, storytelling and sometimes characterization **will be** **completely different** to the point where it will feel like a completely different story, though it will have the same conclusion and revelations. The rewrite will more likely than not influence this story as well, or at the very least its first chapters where a whole lot was going on that needs cleaning up.

Now, I have always wanted to start posting on Ao3, and **the first chapter of the rewrite is now up on Archive of our Own**, so don't be alarmed if you see a story with the same characters, set-up and so forth popping up in the Doctor Who feeds. It is just plain old me trying to clean up the mess that was the first instalment of this series. The story is up under the username VioletK (the same one that I use here) and has the same title as before (**HOWEVER**, if you find a story that has the same premise, characters or generally has close resemblance to mine on either site not posted under the VioletK username, please notify me on this account, as it might be plagiarism). I haven't decided if I will simply replace the old chapters with the rewritten ones in this site or take down the whole story and repost it altogether, but right now I am leaning towards the latter.

Until I have finished posting all chapters of the rewrite on the Archive and sorted the story out on FanFiction, **I will be halting updates on **_**When the Darkness Comes**_. This is done to avoid confusion with narratives that might class should I simply replace the chapters here. I promise that I will get back to updating this story soon, as I will have all the time in the world to dedicate to the rewrite and will be done with it relatively fast *fingers crossed*

Seeing as the first story of the series will differ greatly from the original, **I would highly recommend you follow its progress on the Archive**. I will be posting updates of my progress on my Tumblr (fangirling-phoenix) and will notify you of whether I will replace the existing chapters or take down the story and repost it in its new form in a future author's note both here and on Ao3. This author's note (a similar one, at least) will be posted in _Whispers in the Dark_ as well.

Thank you for sticking with me for all this time and for supporting this story! I couldn't have done it without you!

This author's note will be replaced with a chapter.


End file.
